12/12/11 FOG, CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS, AND "FAIRNESS"

FOGGY, SLIPPERY MORNING

LUTHERAN CHURCH

SECOND STREET

...MORE

NEIGHBOR MIKE OUTDID HIMSELF THIS YEAR

Monday, 8:00 AM.  35 degrees, wind WWSW, calm.  The sky is overcast and thick fog is developing.  The barometer is down and black ice is forming on the roads. I managed to take a tumble despite being careful.  Buddy walked very nicely, not pulling on the leash at all.  He seemed to know conditions were a bit perilous for bipedal creatures.
    Buddy is improving his manners every day, but still has a stubborn streak a mile wide, which is I think characteristic of the breed.  He still won’t sit for me on
command but sits nicely for Joan.  Of course, she doesn’t command, she cajoles, I.E., “Buddy is such a nice dog, I know he will sit for me, won’t you, buddy dear?”  Now that is patently unfair.  After all, that would ruin my reputation at the kennel club or wherever if I resorted to that kind of bribery.
    The city has a fair amount of Christmas lights  up, but they seem to be fewer every year as there are more and more absentee owners who don’t bother with decorations.  Of course we don’t help much as we don’t put up a lot of decorations either.
    Commentary: Loews is under fire for discontinuing its advertising on a Dearborn, MI reality TV show featuring Muslim-American couples.  It reportedly did so after receiving complaints from other groups that the TV show did not depict the truth about Muslim life.  Now, Loews obviously advertised on that show in anticipation of gaining more Muslim customers, and withdrew the advertising because it believed they were alienating more customers than  attracting . It was a business decision as to how to spend an advertising budget.
    This has now become a political battle, from as far away as California, with lawmakers calling Loews prejudiced for withdrawing its advertising.  Sounds very logical and one might evern be sympathetic to the discrimination charges.  But here's the crux of the matter: if government or its surrogates can tell a corporation how and when and where to advertise, it can play political favorites ad nauseum, and obviously will do so.  How about the federal government telling Walmart and Loews and the rest to advertise on shows that have politicians or political viewpoints from one party or another featured? Or tell them to withdraw advertising from the same?  Or demanding advertising support for General Motors products, the firm still owned by the federal government?
    Life, including business, is not always "fair."  But demanding "fairness" in every instance, especially by the government, creates the opposite; unfairness of the most grievous and illogical sort, including infringement of the First Amendment rights of all of us.  Keep this kind of pressure up and business will be loath to advertise at all.  How's that for stimulating the economy?