Oh. My. God.
Here I am, genuinely trying to make amends with my many friends in Washington’s Italian-Tlingit-American Republican community, and I just inadvertently step in it. I am soooooo embarrassed!
Out of respect to Bruno Brian and the delicate sensibilities of Italian-Tlingit-American Republicans everywhere, I remixed the WA Dems’ “controversial” Rossi/BIAW web video to remove the allegedly offensive theme song from The Sopranos, and replace it with a beautiful melody that I found as haunting as Rossi must find the bitter memories of his narrow loss in the 2004 gubernatorial election… and his total ass-whooping in a court of law seven months later.
At first I was stunned by the negative reactions the new music generated in the comment thread, until a helpful reader emailed me to tell me that this captivating orchestral piece was actually the theme to The Godfather, a somewhat obscure film that apparently includes a subplot revolving around Italian mobsters or something. Who knew? (I’d always thought The Godfather was a prequel to The Deer Hunter, due to John Cazale’s brilliant recurring role in both films, but my recollection may have been blurred by age and cheap chianti.)
So in attempting to replace a vague musical reference to organized crime (certainly vaguer than Dino Rossi directly comparing Gov. Gregoire to Tony Soprano the very same day the video was released), I accidentally stumbled upon the one melody that most reliably evokes the popular image of Italian mobsters. Talk about irony. I mean, if the state Dems, regardless of ethnic sensitivities, had really intended to imply that BIAW is somewhat mob-like in the way that it launders money through multiple PACs and thuggishly inserts itself into political campaigns for the sole purpose of kneecapping their opponents, they would have chosen this exact tune. But they didn’t.
Yet I did, and for that I am truly, truly sorry. So please don’t view the original offensive video here. Or for that matter, here, here, or here. And whatever you do, don’t view my unfortunate remix here. (Or here.)
In fact I’m so sorry, that I’ve actually remixed the video once again, this time using a song that I’m confident in no way references Rossi’s Italian-Tlingit heritage. Indeed, in light of my obvious pop-culture deficiencies, and just to be on the safe side, I’ve chosen a mambo, a musical form of distinctly non-Italian, Afro-Caribbean origins, which I now offer to Dino, Bruno and the rest of you with my sincerest apologies. Enjoy:
Goldy, you should be ashamed of yourself. I’m deeply offended at the slights you’ve directed toward my Italian race..
And look at the blogads this post attracts. “Trenton Made”? All highly prejudiced against my Italian race..
Sheesh…
Goldy,
Rather than engaging in a useless game of tit-for tat that no one gives a shit about, why not try promoting our candidate instead? You might want to start with how she’s going after Country Wide.
All you’ve done is proven that you’re a child.
@3 It’s fun. But you wouldn’t get it. For you commie-fascist, America-hating traitors, fun seems to be clamoring for wars you’d never fight yourself.
What racist Sorority was Gregoire president of Goldy??
You think that’s funny too?!
Damn you, Goldy. I am a smart ass. I pride myself on being a smart ass. Now, the bar has been set so high, well, I may have to retire.
My hat is off to you.
My virtual bare ass to the dumb-ass-wingnut-dipwads who seem to be missing the smart ass gene and the resulting humor.
#6: don’t worry about ’em. Humor and the state of being a smart-ass takes what they call “extra” brain power to process.
This is probably why you never see banana slugs, paramecia, Dungeness crabs, fruit flies, or other such life forms laugh.
TRM @3,
What? Now what the hell is wrong with this song?
Goldy,
Were you behind this, too?
http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_9719639
David, you took the complaint of the ADL seriously. You trivialize the complaint of The Italian Club of Seattle, implying they suffer from “delicate sensibilities.” What’s the difference except partisanship?
David, the Dems did the right thing, and you make light of it.
Luigi @10,
Damn right I trivialize the complaint of the Italian Club, because it was bullshit. The Dems use a song that half the viewers don’t recognize, and they demand Dwight Pelz be fired? What the fuck?
Meanwhile, the BIAW repeatedly and with violent strong words equate environmentalists with Nazis, and regulations with death camps, and refuse to back down when confronted. And those are somehow equivalent? Fuck that.
What I am doing… what should be obvious to any fair minded person with half a brain… is what I’ve always done, and what needs to be done sometimes, and that is making a point by example. You want a soundtrack that explicitly says the Rossi and the BIAW are mobsters? I gave it to you. You want a soundtrack that intentionally comments on Rossi’s (half) ethnicity? Here it is. Enjoy.
What really pisses off the assholes on the right about me and what I do, is that you can’t react the way the folks on the right always react, and that is to attempt to threaten my livelihood. You can’t attempt to make me fear for my job by demanding that somebody fire me. I’m fireproof and I’m judgment proof. And you know what? I’d write just as fearlessly even if I weren’t, because that’s what I do.
Deal with it.
Goldy @ 11
You should try a remix with Giovinezza. That would more appropriately comment on the politics of Dino Rossi and the BIAW. Maybe the Italian Club of Seattle would be much less offended with associating Rossi with Italian fascists, as opposed to Italian mobsters. And more appropriate, given that the BIAW considers storm water regulations to be comparable to Nazi death camps (and presumably as bad as, if not worse than, the Mussolini regime).
Besides, Giovinezza was actually a somewhat touching soundtrack for Lion of the Desert.
Goldy, just for fun go down to King County
land development building and tell them you
wish to build a new home on a piece of property
you bought. Now really dig in. If you really
went through all that is unnecessary, you
probably would donate to BIAW, you just don’t
know what you don’t know.
Goldy your threads regarding the video have been brilliant. It’s reasons like this that I read this blog.
Pure entertainment. Even the responses from people add to the irony. Its like a well crafted piece of art. I only wish more people could understand the humor (and great political strategy) behind it.
Mark @ 13
You should have found out whether you could build a new home on the property BEFORE you bought it. How much did you pay for the unbuildable lot?
@15 I bought a fixer years ago. I was merely
using that strictly for training purposes
because the average person has absolutely no
idea of the red tape involved in just adding
on to your house let alone building a new one.
Without the BIAW, it would be WAY harder. They
do an excellent job and have plenty of common
sense. But, it is sad that somebody who pays
taxes on a piece of property wouldn’t be able
to use it at all in some cases.
I think the righties are right for once. We ought to let the BIAW and their hired thugs do anything they want. I got my eye on some land in heavily republican east side neighborhoods where I want to build halfway houses. Let’s see how the righties feel about that.
HEY BYEBYE YOUR A FUCKIN JOKE YOU WANT TO BUY SOME LAND.GET A JOB ASSHOLE
@11 David Goldstein
Dear David:
David. your post @11 proves my point. Are you pounding them too much?
Hey Goldy–
Chew on this!
1st the Tribe Conflict…now the Unions.
Unions get taxpayer money…which they are donating to Gregoire…while she is negotiating their raises??
You should be outraged!! Laugh-laugh
CORRUPTED GREGOIRE NEEDS TO BE FIRED!
“The incumbent is negotiating with these state employee groups using taxpayer money. On the very day that she is negotiating, these same groups are putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into a campaign to re-elect her,” said Rossi campaign spokesperson Jill Strait. ”
Unions Ready With Attack Ads; Gregoire Negotiating Their Pay Increases
The Evergreen Progress PAC will launch attack ads against Dino Rossi starting tomorrow. Governor Gregoire is currently negotiating pay increases for state employees who belong to the Evergreen Progress PAC. The unions are financing the ads and she is financing the unions with more taxpayer dollars. It looks like another brazen conflict of interest for campaign cash. She is consistent!
The Evergreen Progress PAC, made up of contributions from the Democratic Governors Association and 15 labor union PACs, is slated to start running TV attack ads against Dino Rossi tomorrow. More than 60 percent of the money for these ads comes from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Washington Federation of State Employees. Both groups have also given large sums to the State Democratic Party.
While these groups, whose employees are paid by state tax dollars, are pouring in hundreds of thousands of dollars to help re-elect Governor Christine Gregoire, she is actively negotiating pay increases for these same state employees.
“The incumbent is negotiating with these state employee groups using taxpayer money. On the very day that she is negotiating, these same groups are putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into a campaign to re-elect her,” said Rossi campaign spokesperson Jill Strait. “Is Gregoire blind to this conflict of interest? Will the public believe that the Governor, who is negotiating with these groups, is unaware or unaffected by the fact that these same groups are paying for her re-election?
“Gregoire should refuse to negotiate pay increases until after the election and she should instruct her party chair to return contributions from these groups. Anything else gives the appearance of a pay-off. At a time when our state faces over a $2.5 billion deficit and families and businesses are struggling with rising prices, we can’t afford to see our tax dollars wasted by Gregoire handing out political thank you to her biggest contributors.”
The SEIU currently has four contracts being negotiated by Gregoire that need to be completed by October 1, 2008.
1) Home health care workers – SEIU 775
2) In home child care workers – SEIU 925
3) Nurses in state institutions – SEIU 1199
4) Classified staff in higher Ed institutions (PSE/SEIU)
The Washington Federation of State Employees is also currently negotiating contracts with Gregoire that include increases in salary and benefits.
The Seattle Times on Tuesday highlighted the fact that both the SEIU and the Washington Federation of State Employees were major contributors during the 2004 recount, donating $418,000 and $250,000 respectively, and that both made out very well under Gregoire’s administration. These same groups will now run TV ads to ensure that Gregoire stays in the Governor’s mansion.
“Do you suppose these ‘independent’ ads will coincidentally be a continuation of Gregoire’s radio attack ads that went up this week criticizing Dino for the 2003 budget – the same budget that was passed by a Democratic controlled House and signed by Democratic Governor Gary Locke?” continued Strait. “And do you suppose that Gov. Gregoire, who was so offended last week by third party ads about her record, will show the same kind of anger toward these ads?”
Let me get this straight.
Rossi is a bad guy for taking BIAW money. Does that make Frank Chopp a bad guy too?
Probably not on this blog.