tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post2844870230659629914..comments2023-10-31T09:14:26.930-05:00Comments on Manifesto Joe's Texas Blues: Things I Don't Miss About 'The Good Old Days'Manifesto Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06521151220297061304noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-83991940124697660462010-01-20T22:26:49.555-06:002010-01-20T22:26:49.555-06:00Yeah, Bob Hope's wartime troop entertainment s...Yeah, Bob Hope's wartime troop entertainment shows were a good and kind gesture on his part, but he's still never been funny! And you're right about all the leftists being killed, and the smaller, but ever-so-wacky right wing contigents back then (John Birch Society, KKK, etc.). Every age has its extremist wackos, but nowadays it seems like they're crawling out of the woodwork...Jack Jodellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02165430903903838990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-13349722840033366122010-01-20T12:45:41.386-06:002010-01-20T12:45:41.386-06:00Well, my "good old days" go back even fa...Well, my "good old days" go back even farther than yours do... and while I agree with about 99% of things you don't miss, there were a lot of things I DO miss about a life that was a lot simpler and easier to deal with on a day to day basis than they are now.<br /><br />When you look at the "good" things... according to one's own perspective, of course... that we have today and would miss if we suddenly returned to those "thrilling days of yesteryear... the fact is that you wouldn't really miss them at all since you would never have had them in the first place.<br /><br />I'm from the 40s and 50s and one thing I have to laugh at is when someone who wasn't around back then tries to tell me how bad people had it.<br /><br />Again... remember that I'm not talking about the political or racial issues that Joe tried to leave out of his post and which, as a matter of fact, we're still dealing with (poorly)today.<br /><br />But I enjoyed being a working stiff in the days when a working stiff was held up as the shining example of what it mkeant to be an American and our heroes weren't money grubbing politicians and CEAs and steroid swilling multimillionaire sports figures.Tom Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08359840877396860691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-44050905869796165682010-01-20T06:44:00.824-06:002010-01-20T06:44:00.824-06:00I agree with Manifesto Joe's points, but I wou...I agree with Manifesto Joe's points, but I would like to touch on something that I haven't seen mentioned in this debate.<br /><br />There is something very dark and sinister going on in America right now.<br /><br />It's difficult to put my finger on it, but it scares the hell out of me. What I'm talking about is the atmosphere of hate, bigotry, ignorance, and intolerance one sees at the Tea Bagger rallies. <br /><br />One also hears it on Fox News, the wingnut blogs and on talk radio (and here, I'm talking about the extremist radio hosts who make Rush Limbaugh sound like an intelligent voice).<br /><br />I'm aware that there have been similar voices of hate throughout America's history. But I'd argue that it's worse than ever today. After all, in the past, the KKK and the Birchers didn't have nationwide, massively-funded radio and TV networks to spread their message.<br /><br />It's ugly, it's scary----and it's growing by leaps and bounds. I'm not sure where it'll all wind up---but I'd bet money that it'll take America to a dark, sinister place that will make us nostalgic for the George W. Bush years.<br /><br />It's going to get real ugly in the years ahead folks. Mark my words. I don't claim to be Nostradamus, but I did predict the 2008 economic collapse years ago on my blog. (Oh, and on that note, I'd like to make a further prediction: the economic collapse has only begun).Marc McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17105754072842852126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-5827564641195658372010-01-19T18:25:15.730-06:002010-01-19T18:25:15.730-06:00I'd almost forgotten about those. I think my g...I'd almost forgotten about those. I think my grandmother wore one until she got too old to care about her figure.Manifesto Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06521151220297061304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-3496905682924741862010-01-19T17:18:51.529-06:002010-01-19T17:18:51.529-06:00Girdles.Girdles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-38797001077143060502010-01-19T15:43:50.944-06:002010-01-19T15:43:50.944-06:00PS for Jack:
I actually thought of Bob Hope after...PS for Jack:<br /><br />I actually thought of Bob Hope after putting up the Skelton video, but didn't want to make the post too long. Yeah, I agree about Bob. I think his popularity had much to do with wartime nostalgia. My old man would always be glued to the TV every time a Hope special came on. I think it's because he remembered that Hope was almost the only entertainer who would enter a combat zone (my dad was in the Pacific in 1944-45) and bring USO hotties like Jane Russell and Carole Landis with him. There was an emotional bond with Hope and the WWII vets, so I guess it didn't matter to the vets how cheesy his comedy became.Manifesto Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06521151220297061304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-20899808711762054262010-01-19T15:31:51.476-06:002010-01-19T15:31:51.476-06:00Again, I think we're talking trade-offs. I can...Again, I think we're talking trade-offs. I can remember watching some awful movies way back when, and listening to some terribly cheesy music on Top 40, largely because of the limited number of media outlets there were in those days. There wasn't anything else to watch or listen to. Now, on the Internet, I can stream music according to my tastes on Pandora or Last.fm, and with Netflix I can get almost any film I want, without worrying about starting times.<br /><br />The right wing didn't have as many media outlets back then, but they were certainly there. I have a small collection of their old paperbacks and such ("None Dare Call It Treason", etc.) And, it seemed like left-leaning political and/or religious leaders were constantly being murdered. JFK, Malcolm X, MLK, RFK. It was a dark time in many ways. Let's not gloss it over.Manifesto Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06521151220297061304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-6517710609459420452010-01-19T14:55:26.697-06:002010-01-19T14:55:26.697-06:00I'd say I agree with both of you guys. To that...I'd say I agree with both of you guys. To that list, along with Red Skelton, I would have to add Bob Hope: totally predictable jokes, unfunny, and a mile-long arrogance and conceit. As for today's items I'll never miss, I would say Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson, Fox "News", most post-1990 pop music, most modern movies, "reality" TV shows, and the ever-increasing amount of disgusting TV commercials, especially the erectile dysfunction, pharmaceutical, and investment-broker ones. YECCCCHHHHH!!!!Jack Jodellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02165430903903838990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-33889423297908962392010-01-19T02:14:35.452-06:002010-01-19T02:14:35.452-06:00Can't disagree with much here. In any era, one...Can't disagree with much here. In any era, one seems to have to deal in trade-offs. The gist of this was to point out that things could be worse now, and even have been in the past, in certain ways.<br /><br />And, bear in mind that the "good old days" I'm talking about were mostly pre-1965, from childhood memory for me. Pop music seemed to peak circa 1964-74, and Hollywood movies arguably around 1969-1980. I credit the Boomers for having enough taste to be the audience for that era of pop culture.Manifesto Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06521151220297061304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502695489360674806.post-88470985657180240362010-01-19T01:56:09.444-06:002010-01-19T01:56:09.444-06:00Good points.
But actually, outside of missing the...Good points.<br /><br />But actually, outside of missing the Internet and a few other things like halfway sane Civil Rights Laws, I would vastly prefer the good old days. Here's a few reasons why:<br /><br />1. Music that doesn't suck. Popular music today is probably the worst it's ever been. Give me an era any day where you could turn on Top 40 era radio and hear the likes of prime Dylan, Stones and the Beatles.<br /><br />2. Movies that don't suck. U.S. cinema today is probably the worst it has ever been in history. Give me an era where I could walk down to the local theater and actually have decent odds of finding a worthwhile film.<br /><br />3. Sane CEO pay. Back in the 1960s, CEO pay averaged around 40 times what the rank-and-file worker earned. Today, that multiple is around 500 times.<br /><br />4. For that matter, a more egalitarian America. For what I long for, one doesn't have to look to the Nordic nations. You can find it right here in our own nation's history. From around the 1940s to the 1970s, America was downright egalitarian, compared to today.<br /><br />5. Sane tax policy. In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, the rich actually had to pay their fair share of taxes. That's a million light years from the steal-from-the-poor, give-to-the-rich system we have today.<br /><br />6. The Fairness Doctrine. Enough said.<br /><br />7. The "Can-Do" nation that America once was, back in the days when the American Dream was real. Back in those days, we really were the "good guys," at least on some issues. These days, frankly, we're not. If anyone is the "good guys" these days, I'd have to say it's the Europeans. No, Europe isn't a utopia, but they're way ahead of us on all the issues I care about, from fighting global warming to universal health care to workers' rights.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com