Today on MorningWood, on Community Radio WMNF 88.5 fm, Tampa, and streaming at wmnf.org.
4 to 6 am every Tuesday!

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Welcome to the MorningWood Buy Nothing Day special.

Stop Shopping. Start Living. Buy Nothing

Hour 1 planned playlist

Hour 2 planned playlist

Live playlist

Buy Nothing Day:

Since its launch in the Pacific Northwest twelve years ago, Buy Nothing Day has grown into a worldwide celebration of consumer awareness and simple living. Observed on the day after US Thanksgiving – America’s busiest shopping day of the year – the campaign has sparked debate, radio talk shows, TV news items and newspaper headlines around the world.

People in more than thirty countries have made a pact with themselves and, as a personal experiment and public statement, stepped out of the consumer stream for 24 hours. The ways in which people have marked the event worldwide have been as diverse as the participants themselves.

Many play with the icons of our consumer landscape by taking off on mock shopping sprees, by hawking “hope” and “happiness,” or simply by opening up shop and selling nothing more.

The daredevils of the Ruckus Society, a California-based direct-action group, dropped a boxcar-sized banner ridiculing overconsumption smack in the middle of the Mall of America. Other more down-to-earth-types created and distributed the Gift Exemption Voucher – a polite way of saying, Let’s not get each other anything this year, out of principle. In Seattle, helpful Buy Nothing Day celebrants offered a credit-card cut-up service outside a downtown mall.

In America, Buy Nothing Day played out in some of the nation’s last remaining public spaces - its malls. Costumed groups of revelers managed to slip in and stay long enough to set up tables and suggest alternatives to heavy holiday spending such as giving to charity. Spend time with family and friends, rather than money on them, was the message. Yes it’s cliche, but, the things most worth pursuing, and exchanging - love, ritual, attention, sacrifice, freedom-are the things no-one can buy.

Buy Nothing Day just wouldn’t be the same if the networks didn’t reject our opt-not-to-shop TV uncommercial. Every season, we approach ABC, CBS and NBC to air the spot, and every year they refuse us–claiming our ad asking people not to buy anything threatens “the current economic policy of the United States.” It will be interesting to see if this year CNN Headline News, the one show that has taken our money and aired the spot (after their “Dollars and Sense” program since 1996) continues to break ranks.

Most constitutional-law experts aren’t bothered by the networks’ refusal of the spot, according to Robert Berner in The Wall Street Journal. Networks aren’t under any legal obligation to air it. But as Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe remarked, “At least the networks make it clear who butters their bread.”

Since September 11th much has changed, yet much remains the same. Despite an enormous body of evidence warning of the dire consequences of fossil-fuel-induced climate change, including massive floods in Europe and crippling droughts on Canadian prairies, consumption of oil has scarcely slackened. Bush’s thinly-veiled quest for domination over Middle Eastern oil reserves promises to perpetuate this trend. The ongoing “war on terrorism” has sharpened our appreciation of how tenuous and potentially catastrophic is a voracious First World’s dependence on foreign oil, networked international money markets, and the utterly uncompassionate survival instincts of multinational corporations.

Lost in the breast-beating is any critical discussion of the *point* of all this economic patriotism. The goal is to boost the flagging gross domestic product. The GDP is the usual measurement of the strength of the economy, but how useful is it? Consider that whenever there’s an ecological or human disaster in the U.S., the GDP goes up, and we call it “progress.” By that logic, the crash of those jets into the Twin Towers was a good thing, because it, too, sent the GDP up (or it almost certainly would have, with new billions spent on defense and health and cleanup, had the fear factor not kicked in). The point is, we measure the goods, but we do not measure the bads – and, unchecked, it’s the bads that will bury us. (For more on this subject, check out the website of the folks at Redefining Progress in San Francisco. www.rprogress.org) Overconsumption creates long-term ecological problems that aren’t accounted for in the GDP. That’s one of the things Buy Nothing Day is all about.

There’s no right way to celebrate Buy Nothing Day. The idea is to do *something* to spark up debate, not shut it down. The shining hope for a revolution in human consciousness lies in the actions of everyday people. And so in the most profound sense, nothing has changed at all.

WMNF is a non-commercial community radio station that celebrates local cultural diversity and is committed to equality, peace and social and economic justice. WMNF provides broadcasts and creates other forums to serve the community by the exposure and sharing of these values.

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Startling reports from Tampa indicate that actual citizens may be attempting to use public facilities. Thankfully, our government overseers are aware of the problem and are taking steps to curtail the use of any public facility by anyone who does not have access to a daily shower.
Keeping the county safe for the right people:

Every day for two years, Cowboy Adams has been hanging out at the John F. Germany Library downtown.

He reads and plays games on the computers. He takes cigarette breaks outside.

It’s an escape from the cold, hard streets he calls home.

But lately, things have become more stressful at the library. Changes are being made, one “no loitering” sign at a time.

Stern notices have been posted around the building to ward off loiterers. Just inside the automatic entrance door, a metal bin restricts anyone from bringing in anything larger than a small carry-on bag. Next to the bin are leaflets listing rules of conduct, such as a ban on bathing, shaving or washing clothes in the restrooms. And two Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies are keeping an eye on visitors.
……

The public library on Ashley Drive has long been a popular spot for the homeless.

When it gets hot, rainy or cold, the library is one of the only public buildings where they can take refuge.

They can plop down at desks and read books or sit down at computers to play games. It passes the time and doesn’t cost a thing.
……

… people like Adams are convinced that they are being targeted. Adams started noticing a shift in the climate when the “no loitering” sign were erected. The warning used to be written on paper and taped to the inside window of the library’s front doors. But more than a year ago, metal signs on metal posts began appearing.

And half-sheets of yellow paper outlining the library’s code of conduct were placed at the front entrance. The rules include a restriction on the maximum size of personal belongings allowed in the library: 9 inches by 16 inches by 22 inches (1.8 cubic feet), slightly smaller than most airlines’ restrictions.

Restrictions on the size of objects that can be brought in were imposed for safety reasons, said Marcee Challener, interim director of libraries.

“On occasion, some folks have tried to bring in very large items that protrude,” she said. “It’s their personal type of belongings. Huge stuff.”
……

“We are a public institution,” she said. “We welcome everyone to use our materials but we do want to provide a safe atmosphere for everyone. That’s why we have a code of conduct. Everyone is welcome.”

If they past muster with security.

About a year ago, additional funding allowed for the hiring of an additional guard, Challener said. Two patrol officers had been needed for years, given the size and layout of the building, she said.

“We wanted to do it for a long time,” Challener said. “We have two buildings connected by that glass tube and four separate floors. It was too much room for one person to be able to monitor. We were glad to be able to provide extra security there during operating hours.”

The extra guard was partly because of the homeless, Hillsborough sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

“It’s due to the vagrants that come will come in, hang out, use the restrooms to bathe themselves,” Carter said.

The library also is moving toward installing filters on the computers. They will be able to track computer usage so users will be knocked off after a certain amount of time. That way, the staff doesn’t have to make rounds and patrons don’t have to wait long.

But the homeless think it’s because they spend so much time on the computers, playing games such as Solitaire.

“I enjoy coming downtown, playing video games and reading,” Adams said.

He whipped out a paperback: Off the Mangrove Coast, by Louis L’Amour, which he bought for 50 cents at the library’s bookstore. He said he never bathes in the restrooms.

With the welcome mat all but rolled up, “I’ll figure something out,” he said. “I have no choice.”

I can think of plenty of better ways to deal with this perceived problem. The library could install lockers. Local governments could strive to provide safe public bathrooms with showers. We could all work together to get a living wage ordinance passed. But in Florida. we have a reputation to uphold. As a state, Florida ranks second only to California in the level of cruelty shown to homeless people.

In Milwaukee, a church has been declared a public nuisance for feeding homeless people and allowing them to sleep there. In Gainesville, police threatened University of Florida students with arrest if they did not stop serving meals to homeless people in a public park. In Santa Barbara, it is illegal to lean against the front of a building or store, and no one can park a motor home on the street in one place for more than two hours.

These ordinances and activities demonstrate the increasingly hostile attitude in the United States toward people who are homeless, according to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless that was released today. This report examines occurrences since January 2002 and documents civil rights violations perpetrated against people experiencing homelessness.
With the highest unemployment rates in almost a decade, more people are becoming homeless, and as the economy continues to tighten, it is causing financial crises for shelters and service-providing agencies. Though nearly all cities still lack sufficient shelter beds and social services, many continue to pass laws prohibiting people experiencing homelessness from sleeping outside.

Almost 70% of the cities surveyed in the first report have passed at least one or more new laws specifically targeting homeless people since January 2002, making it increasingly difficult to survive on the streets. Cities are attempting to make it illegal to perform life-sustaining activities in public, while at the same time refusing to allocate sufficient funds to address the causes of homelessness.

This 2003 report finds Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta to be the top five “meanest” cities in the United States for poor and homeless people to live in; California is the “meanest” state, followed by Florida as the second “meanest.”

The National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project (NHCROP) — a project of the National Coalition for the Homeless comprised of local advocates in communities across the country — has compiled quantitative and qualitative data samplings from 147 communities in 42 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. These cities represent rural, urban, and suburban areas in all geographic and demographic varieties across the United States.

“Instead of the compassionate responses that communities have used to save lives in the past two decades, the common response to homelessness is to criminalize the victims through laws and ordinances that make illegal life-sustaining activities that people experiencing homelessness are forced to do in public,” said Donald Whitehead, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, who is himself formerly homeless.

As it becomes increasingly difficult to afford housing, this country is turning to jails instead of creating affordable housing by enacting the Bringing America Home Act (H.R. 2897—108th Congress). These individuals and families are arrested for committing such illegal acts as sitting or standing on sidewalks and napping in parks. Whitehead stated, “At the national level, we see a relationship between municipalities’ efforts to make homelessness a crime and the increases in hate crimes and violent acts directed at homeless people in those cities.”

Brian Davis, Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, said, “Imagine, the loneliness and feeling of helplessness, when every shelter is full and then the city’s police force adds insult to injury by confiscating all your belongings or issues a ticket for sleeping in a park. It takes a special person to be able to cope with the daily struggle to survive while the city government throws added barriers into your path toward stability.”

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(note: this entry is color coded for your reading convenience!)

As reported here on BlogWood, The Tampa Tribune published an article on Nov. 19 that is remarkable for it’s bias. In a nutshell, a Sheriffs Deputy went before a government board to represent MADD, but testified in full uniform and misled those to whom he was speaking. The Trib story reads like a propaganda piece from MADD and reports the officer’s misleading statistics as fact.

There seems to be a new reporter assigned to this story, which leads me to the following questions:

Why are the original reporters off this story?
Were they ever at the Commission meeting they were reporting on? They either missed many many little details, or they or their editor intentionally spun the story.
Do any of the original reporters or their editor have ties to MADD?

Anyway, today’s article is obviously a correction, but it is done without admitting the original mistake. Most readers will remain blissfully unaware that their paper printed an article that was designed to fit MADD’s political agenda. Casual readers of the original article are not going to pick up the fact that Officer Wallace was actually representing MADD (despite the fact that he was in full uniform!) because this is not disclosed until the second to last paragraph.

I emphasized this buried information in BlogWood, and apparently the Trib has now had time to read their own reporters’ notes, because the new article features this disclosure prominently.

The very end of the original is also the only place in the whole article where you will find anyone with anything good to say about the relaxed Blue Laws. Readers who slog all the way through the misleading piece can see 17 words from a restaurant owner who benefits from the earlier sales.

Another glaring error, or intentional distortion, was the Trib’s original reporting of the statistics that Wallace spewed.

The facility processed 6,785 DUI cases in 2002 and already has processed more than 5,300 this year, Wallace said.

“The statistics are scary. Hillsborough County has a problem,” he said after the meeting. “Two more hours to drink - what good can that have?”

Word has it that the Trib reporter who wrote today’s article owns a calculator, but he is MAD (no pun intended) because The Tribune refuses to reimburse him for this expense. Their argument is that fingers and toes are more than sufficient for most Tribune reporters’ math needs. Nevertheless, today’s article fleshes these numbers out a little, while still giving the Sheriffs office a fighting chance to close the gap toward the end of the season:

Wallace told the board the blood-alcohol center processed 6,785 DUI cases in 2002 and already this year has processed more than 5,300 cases.

But this is November, just six weeks from the end of the year. If the pace continues, the projected number of DUI cases will total about 700 fewer than last year. That doesn’t take into account the holidays, however, when the number of DUIs tend to rise a bit.

On BlogWood, I was not so kind:

Oh, good! Now we have some numbers to back up Wallace’s testimony that DUIs are increasing. Let’s see, it’s November, so we can knock 2 months off of our 365 day year, do a little math, and see that Wallace’s division is processing about 17 DUI cases each day. Wow. They’re pretty busy, all right. Why, last year they only processed a little over 18.5 cases each day. That’s an increase of… uh, wait… let’s see… Well, I’m sure Officer Wallace can shed some light on this apparent discrepancy:

“The statistics are scary. Hillsborough County has a problem,” he said after the meeting. “Two more hours to drink - what good can that have?”

Hmmm… that’s a pretty scientific observation. I don’t think I can fault his methodology at all.

Which brings us to the whole “scary” thing. Today’s article has Wallace “before the board” talking of a “scary” situation. The original article, quoted above, has him saying this to a reporter after the meeting. His choice of words obviously had an impact:

Platt was persuaded and cast the deciding vote in a 4-3 ballot to rescind the 1-month-old law.
……

“He was there in uniform,” Platt said. “He said, ‘I’m saying we have a problem in Hillsborough County. The statistics show we do. The stats are scary.’ “

Regardless of when he actually uttered the word, statistics seem to show that the only thing scary about a mere 2 extra hours to drink on Sunday is the probability of Deputy Wallace’s pants catching on fire. From today’s article we learn that Wallace is either a liar or a coward. (I’m leaning toward the former, though I suppose it could be both…):

Before the board stood a Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy - in full uniform - saying the county was in a “scary”‘ situation; that thousands of suspected drunken drivers parade through the jail each year and this year is no different. Even though it’s two fewer hours a week that alcohol can be purchased, it would make a difference, the commission was told.

Which would seem to run counter to what his boss said later:

(Sheriff Cal) Henderson said he wouldn’t have done it (spoke to the commission) without a more complete picture. He said the DUI statistics do not appear to be affected by “two hours on a Sunday morning.”

And it looks like the Trib took that money they saved on calculators and sprung for a phone call so that their reporter could hear some real numbers:

Hillsborough sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Hawkins, who heads up the department’s DUI task force, said his squad follows trends that say most drunken drivers navigate highways between midnight and 5 a.m. on Sundays, not after 11 a.m.

“During the morning hours, from 8 a.m. on until early afternoon, it’s sporadic,”he said. “Fewer people are engaged in drinking at that time. Our enforcement effort is geared to the database that says [between midnight and 5 a.m.] is where we need to put the majority of our eggs.”

Since August, the department has averaged 3.5 DUI arrests on Sundays, after 11 a.m., he said, and he hasn’t noticed a spike in arrests after county businesses started selling alcohol at 11 a.m. on Sundays. He doesn’t plan to alter his enforcement efforts.

Finally, in today’s article, the Trib lets on that even the commission itself might be aware of at least two sides to this story:

The commission now will schedule a public hearing to flesh out the numbers and hear all sides of the argument. Platt has asked Sheriff Cal Henderson to bring official DUI statistics. She hasn’t made up her mind one way or the other, she said.

(emphasis mine)

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TT:

A church can display a cross and a sign reading “Jesus is the reason for the season'’ in a holiday lights attraction at a Broward County park, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale claimed unconstitutional censorship after months of wrangling with county officials over its plans to join community displays at the Holiday Festival of Lights.

Now, I’m not even gonna get into the merits of this case. In fact, if there are a number of varied displays from secular as well as religious organizations in this park, as the article implies, then I might even agree with the ruling. I do get a little peeved, however, when over-zealous Christians start talking about “the reason for the season.”

As far as the seasons are concerned, Christianity is a newcomer. And when Christianity was a fledgling religion, aggressively recruiting followers and attempting to increase its market share, Christianity took the advice of some high paid consultants and created a major celebratory holiday right in the middle of the Pagan Winter Solstice celebrations like Saturnalia in ancient Rome and Yule in Europe:

Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.

Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as “Christmas.” Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the “Invincible Sun” in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.

Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with “Christmas” actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. While Christian mythology is interwoven with contemporary observances of this holiday time, its Pagan nature is still strong and apparent.

This history is, of course, well known, and even acknowledged by most Christians. So, Jesus is absolutely not the reason for the season. I think the Winter Solstice can take most of the credit for that, and pagan rituals that pre-date Christianity by thousands of years can take credit for the parties and decorations, and other traditions that originated with ancient winter celebrations:

Legacies of Saturnalia in contemporary holiday celebrations

Religious Rituals — joining in spiritual community to honor the Divine.
Honored Figures — Santa and Father Time — Saturn; Holy Mother — Ops.
Sacred Flames — candles lit and new fires kindled to represent new Solar year.
Greens — Holly given with gifts, homes decorated with wreaths and garlands.
Time Off from Work — government, schools, businesses closed; multiple days off.
Peace — dispensing of punishments suspended and courts closed; wars ceased.
Relaxing with Family and Friends — renewing bonds, sharing celebration.
Gift Giving — dolls to children, candles to friends; fruit symbols representing increase.
Feasting — sharing food with family and friends; on-going eating and drinking.
Helping Less Fortunate — class distinctions suspended; food for all; masters waiting on servants.
Exhuberant Play — masquerades, gaming, gambling, mock king, jokes, partying, letting loose.
Paper Hats — soft hats (pilei) worn at Saturnalia banquets to signify informality.
Dancing in the New Solar Year — music and dancing.

So let’s drop this factually flawed noxiously sweet over-simplified seasonal slogan. Party like a pileid Pagan, honor Mother Earth, and the next time someone at a party starts in with “Jesus is the …,” cut her off and, in the peaceful spirit of Yule, offer her a drink before gently correcting her misconceptions.

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Steve LaBrake, who specialized in stealing money meant for the poor and lining the pockets of he and his friends, is finally facing charges. His old buddy Dick Greco aint talking.

…Greco stood by LaBrake until the end.

The former mayor not only remained loyal to his housing chief, he lashed out at politicians who wanted LaBrake’s head. He condemned reporters for destroying a man mired in a divorce.

“Many people would rather criticize or throw darts or whatever the hell they do without understanding all the facts,” Greco said in a December speech.

Thursday, he wasn’t talking.

Greco, now a senior vice president at the Edward DeBartolo Property Group, did not return calls about LaBrake’s 60-count indictment alleging bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud.
……

Greco’s friends said he never had the heart to investigate friends. In eight years in office, he did not fire one senior manager.

“Dick has a lot of compassion for people,” said friend George Levy. “I think in Dick’s mind, the people doing the talking were blowing it out of proportion.”

“Dick believed in people,” Levy said. “He trusted people.”

Greco, who has been married three times, also sympathized with LaBrake’s personal problems. LaBrake had had an affair with his aide, then Lynne McCarter.

“He came in here and told me his whole story,” Greco said in March, as he prepared to leave office. “I saw him cry on two occasions. He told me personal things that made me feel for him as a person.”

So, Dick has compassion for white adulterous crooks with external genitalia! What a guy. How ‘bout a little compassion for the working poor in this area who will be paying for LaBrake’s crimes for years to come? Oh, wait… compassion for poor people just leads to laziness and welfare fraud…

More:
Events in the LaBrake case

LaBrakes charged in home scandal

Troxler

5 Indicted In LaBrake Case

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Iraq Death Bombs Protests London Bush Failure Liar Punk-Ass Chump

UPDATED to fix stupid errors :~)

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The Tampa Trib, an unapologetically conservative newspaper with undeniable Christian leanings, reports that one of our County Commissioners has changed her mind about Hillsborough County’s recent relaxation of our archaic blue laws. The County Commissions was reacting to a City Council move a few weeks earlier which was designed to make it easier for rich white football fans to get snookered before Bucs games.

Now, though, having heard from a single law enforcement officer, Jan Platt is having second thoughts:

Earlier Sunday alcohol sales face a short life in Hillsborough after one county commissioner changed her mind about recently relaxing the old “blue laws.'’

Commissioner Jan Platt became the swing vote Tuesday after a sheriff’s deputy spoke about drunken driving.

Platt had been in the majority when commissioners voted 4-3 in September to allow earlier Sunday sales. By switching sides, she began the process of shifting the start time back to 1 p.m. from the current 11 a.m.

“When a law enforcement officer stands up … I’m going to react,'’ Platt said, referring to the testimony from sheriff’s Sgt. Steven Wallace. “He said there has been a significant increase in DUIs in the past year.'’

So, DUIs are up? Maybe we should rethink this early sales thing. After all, everyone knows that DUIs are bad.

Driving under the influence of alcohol had not been a dominant issue when commissioners voted to allow the earlier sales. Businesses had pushed for the change, arguing the old “blue laws'’ were an outdated attempt to discourage drinking on a day reserved for church.

Hmmm… that sounds right too. But if DUIs are up, maybe we should restrict sales every day and not just on Sundays.

In June, St. Petersburg shifted its Sunday start time from 1 p.m. to 11 a.m. Tampa followed suit in September, and later went further by allowing Sunday sales to begin at 7 a.m. in Tampa International Airport.

Retailers in unincorporated Hillsborough worried they would be at a disadvantage. So Platt voted with Commissioners Kathy Castor, Pat Frank and Jim Norman to match the cities’ time change. Ken Hagan, Tom Scott and Ronda Storms opposed it without much discussion.

But Tuesday, Wallace spoke to commissioners at the request of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He’s a MADD adviser and the sergeant in charge of the sheriff’s central blood testing facility, where people arrested for suspected drunken driving are tested for alcohol levels.

The facility processed 6,785 DUI cases in 2002 and already has processed more than 5,300 this year, Wallace said.

Oh, good! Now we have some numbers to back up Wallace’s testimony that DUIs are increasing. Let’s see, it’s November, so we can knock 2 months off of our 365 day year, do a little math, and see that Wallace’s division is processing about 17 DUI cases each day. Wow. They’re pretty busy, all right. Why, last year they only processed a little over 18.5 cases each day. That’s an increase of… uh, wait… let’s see… Well, I’m sure Officer Wallace can shed some light on this apparent discrepancy:

“The statistics are scary. Hillsborough County has a problem,'’ he said after the meeting. “Two more hours to drink - what good can that have?'’

Hmmm… that’s a pretty scientific observation. I don’t think I can fault his methodology at all.

Wallace said he wasn’t representing either his department or Sheriff Cal Henderson, and he also backtracked from at least one of the statistics he provided to commissioners, saying he wanted to double-check with the state his figures about the amount of alcohol-related traffic accidents.

So, DUIs in Hillsborough are down, despite the misleading testimony of a paid MADD consultant, and he may have gotten the State figures that he used to bolster his argument wrong, but as Jan Platt says, “When a law enforcement officer stands up … I’m going to react.'’ Of course, since this particular officer was aparently representing MADD and not the HCSO, shouldn’t that tend to dilute the weight of his testimony just a little?

Meanwhile, county staff is expected to draft legal language to reverse the law. After two public hearings, not yet scheduled, commissioners could give final approval.

“It just seems so ridiculous to me,'’ said Bill Shumate, the owner of Bella’s Italian Cafe in Tampa. “What’s the difference between 11 and 1? There’s no difference.'’

And what’s the difference between Sunday and Monday? There’s also no difference, unless you are a Christian.

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Ouch…

Here’s the deal: I was up drinking with Billy, Boots, and the gang, and I’m just not capable of producing a decent MorningWood entry. So check the live playlist, call and give me shit, and shut the fuck up and listen to the music I’m playing. This edition of MorningWood is dedicated to current events. (Oh, and I planned the music long before I started drinking, but that’s like not a guarantee or anything :~)

WMNF is a non-commercial community radio station that celebrates local cultural diversity and is committed to equality, peace and social and economic justice. WMNF provides broadcasts and creates other forums to serve the community by the exposure and sharing of these values.

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Billy’s the tall bloke next to me.

Tell Us The Truth tour coming to Tampa tonight!

I’ll be hanging with Billy Bragg today, helping out before the show, so probably not a lot of blogging will be happening. I took an unplanned vacation from the whole blogging thang this weekend, and it felt good. I’ll be back very soon, but am doing MorningWood at 4am Tuesday, and I’m busy with my day job, so don’t expect a whole lot of new stuff ‘til maybe Wednesday or so. And get up with MorningWood tomorrow. I’ll have my usual pre-show post up sometime before then.

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The City of St. Petersburg was recently appalled at the behavior of an invited guest. See, the City sponsored a concert in Vinoy Park, a waterfront location that has hosted hundreds of amplified music shows in the past, including plenty of loud rock and roll. But this show seemed different somehow and attracted a dark and brooding crowd to Brion Kerlin’s hood:

The first thing Brion Kerlin heard was the thump of the bass, so loud it shook the sides of his 34-foot trawler.

But hasn’t he heard bass thumps from concerts at Vinoy before? Doesn’t sound like a big deal so far.

Then came the lyrics.

Kerlin is no prude, and he admits using the occasional curse word. But the string of obscenities flowing from the Nov. 2 concert at Vinoy Park offended him.

“This concert was way out of bounds by anyone’s standards,” said Kerlin, 57, who lives on his boat at the city’s marina, about a half- mile from the park. “There’s no question that everyone could hear this.”

Well, it’s apparently out of bounds by Mr. Kerlin’s standards anyway. Let’s see… an outdoor concert on the water… yep, lots of people should be able to hear it alright. But lotsa people can hear artists cursing from that same stage on many weekends each year. Again, what’s the big deal?

Performing that day was the Urban Car Show tour, featuring rapper 50 Cent. The event was cosponsored by the city of St. Petersburg and drew more than 5,300 people to the park.

Like many others that day, Kerlin called the police to complain about the noise and the vulgarity. He was told officers would check into the situation, but neither the music nor the profanities stopped.

Now I think we might be getting somewhere. Instead of a Blues Festival featuring “authentic” black music as interpreted by middle aged white artists playing to a crowd of middle class white fans, the City had the gall to invite an “Urban” rapper to play Vinoy, and 5,300 people, most of whom were definitely NOT white and middle class, actually showed up. So, his neighborhood overrun by, ahem, blacks, Kerlin (who sounds a lot likethis guy) and his neighbors called the police for protection from this music that they don’t understand. And the police refused to shut the concert down and send those 5,300 interlopers home!

……

Bill Proffitt, a spokesman for the St. Petersburg Police Department, said officers could do nothing about the vulgarities.

“We see that as a free speech matter,” he said.

The city has a noise ordinance, but it can be difficult to enforce. Because the concert was held in the afternoon, police weren’t expecting many complaints and didn’t have a noise meter to measure decibel levels, Proffitt said.

The department has now decided to equip the supervisor on duty at such events with a meter, Proffitt said. Violating the noise ordinance could result in a 60-day jail sentence and a $500 fine.

So, is the City going to fine itself? More important: will the noise ordinance be enforced at a Jimmy Buffet show, or just for artists who the City sees as possibly troublesome?

Council member Virginia Littrell, whose district includes Vinoy Park, also wants to give police the ability to halt performances that feature profanity. She has asked the city’s legal department to explore different options.

“It wasn’t just the music itself,” Littrell said. “It was also the language in between the songs.”

Florida has a vague obscenity law that would be difficult to apply to the words spoken or sung at a concert, City Attorney John Wolfe said.

A park is typically considered a public forum, where it would be difficult to restrict freedom of speech. But because the city usually cosponsors these events and fences them off from the rest of the park, Wolfe said an exception could be made.

“We’re creating something other than a traditional public forum,” he said.

Wolfe plans to draft an ordinance to present to council members within the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, he’s also working on a set of standards that could be used when the City Council decides which events it will cosponsor. Wolfe said the goal would be to attract acts appropriate for a “family and tourist” destination.

Here we go. This should certainly cut down on the need to censor and discriminate once the concert has already started. Much more efficient.

Local promoter Dave Hundley said the fault really lies with those who allowed the act to perform.

“It’s 50 Cent,” he said. “What were people expecting? This is what the artists do and this is what the people who pay to see them expect.”

Hundley said cursing is common in many concerts, from rock to hip- hop to punk. And while he’s no fan of profanity, and has chastisedbands who swear during all-ages shows, the language can be part of an artist’s message.

“Even though I may not like what they’re doing, it is art. Sometimes it is supposed to shock or to raise eyebrows,” he said.

As I said before, lots of people hear cursing from that stage all the time. The strong reaction to this particular event is all about white SP residents’ ignorance and fear.

Council member Rene Flowers said she was familiar with the acts in the Urban Car Show tour and was afraid there would be problems. She urged her colleagues to be more vigilant when screening acts that will be held in a city park.

Said Flowers: “Some things just aren’t appropriate to have outside like that.”

“Some things,” or Rap Music?

Howard Troxler weighs in with his opinion: (he’s alittle kinder and much more understanding than myself)

Dirty words!

At a hip-hop concert!

Who knew?

It came as a terrible shock to the city. Perhaps City Hall had confused the event that it was CO-PRODUCING, an event for which it had eagerly fenced off its own park, with, say, an arts and crafts show, or a Taste Of Someplace-or-Other, or perhaps a nice powerboat race.

#$%^$!

Naturally, the city swang into action after the fact.

“I don’t want to create a citywide censor,” council member Bill Foster said, meaning precisely, of course, that he wants to create a citywide censor.

“But we do need a mechanism,” Foster continued, “where we can cut the power when this type of activity goes on.”

(Let us not be distracted by the sudden vision of Foster stationed beneath the stage at future concerts, his hand hovering over the plug, poised to do his civic duty.)

In case you are missin’ my drift here, it is not to defend dirty words, but rather to say that if the city didn’t want a high-volume, loudly vulgar event in a waterfront park, it could have, you know, not held it.

The right way to deal with this is on the front end. If the city wants to insist on a “family” atmosphere for its co-sponsored park events, it is perfectly within its rights. It risks being namby-pamby, but it can try.

The wrong way is to try to regulate the content of public performers, through ordinance or any other way, even though that is the natural temptation. Even the council’s sensible Virginia Littrell, whose district includes the park, raised the possibility of police shutting down the worst offenders.

I am pretty sure she does not mean “Out, out, damned spot.”

But that Shakespeare reference leads us to the cultural thing. See, there is vulgarity in outdoor performances all the time, and not just when “urban” (what is that word code for?) performers do it.

Admittedly, the Nov. 2 concert was unprecedented in its duration and vigor. But if the city is going to start getting choosy about who plays in the parks, it had better act in an even-handed fashion. It seems to me to be a nearly impossible job.

There is no sense trying to delineate on the basis of content. The city is not competent to declare that Shakespeare is art and rap music is not. I am not hip to hip-hop, but smart people tell me that it is an artistic reflection of the urban condition, which by necessity includes plenty of aggression, anger, danger. So when an artist includes the word #@#$#% in a song, that’s part of the deal.

Fair enough. Who is anybody else to say it isn’t valid? After all, the museums are full of paintings of nekkid people, and the playhouses full of their own styles of vulgarity.

Who gets to say that 50 Cent isn’t art, but that a play on Broadway titled Urinetown is? Or if you want to stick to music, how about the rock group that had a song in the national Top 10 earlier this year featuring the lyrics, “She (really bad word here) hates me?”

Posted as Music

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