Bob Dylan said it best nearly fifty years ago when he said that the times they were a changin', but sometimes the change is misguided or unnecessary. In this case, a major change in Washington will involve more standing in the doorway and blocking up the hall. When Massachusetts voters elected Scott Brown in a special election to replace the prolific Edward Kennedy in the United States Senate, they did just that. Kennedy was an advocate for health care reform which has become a major issue in congress since his death. since the sixties, he had been a vehicle for change in America. Brown, on the other hand, is a major change in the state as he is the first Republican senator from Massachusetts in thirty years and people across the state are excited for the change they want.
Sorry to get all political. I don't particularly enjoy doing this, but I must ask the question: what is the point of celebrating change when it is really just a guy who drives a truck and supports the ideals that transformed the United States from the undisputed global superpower to a bitter global bully with a failing economy and tarnished integrity in their foreign policy? Just a year ago, we were celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama and his mission get America back on track and now people expect everything to be all fixed after just one year in office? Bush/Cheney (whoever was calling the shots...I'm not really sure) messed up so badly for eight years, that progress could not fix it in one year no matter how good the new president is. Anyway, people got so impatient with things not getting fixed right away that they just elected more of the same to impede further progress.
Again, sorry for the politics. Now that that is out of my system, on to the changing world of entertainment. For generations, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) has been the leader in late night entertainment. From Johnny Carson, to Leno, to Conan, to Belushi, Aykroyd, and all the other legendary cast members of SNL, NBC had always been the channel to watch when nothing else is open and you can't fall asleep. This past week, however, NBC decided that they should make a change by reverting back to more of the same to try and improve ratings. Jay Leno will be coming back to the Tonight Show because his prime time talk show could not compete with boring doctor/cop/lawyer shows that air on other networks at that hour (I'm sorry, but i actually enjoyed having Leno on at 10. It was refreshing for me because I do not really care for doctor/cop/lawyer type shows. I watch TV to laugh. If I wanted drama and suspense, there are movies that can provide it in much better quality and less predictability. Whatever. I guess I am not the typical viewer.) As a result, my boy Conan O'Brien (we redheads need to stick together) is getting kicked out of a show and a contract that NBC promised him five years ago. The network is siting that the Tonight Show dropped in ratings to Dave Letterman's show but if Letterman didn't cheat on his wife and make a big deal about it, that may not have happened.
Both of these issues are inferior in relevance compared to the disaster that occurred in Haiti. In the long run, one senate seat and one late night talk show on a dying medium of entertainment is not as big of a deal as the thousands upon thousands of deaths and injuries in that poor country. People need to act quickly to help get relief to these people before it is too late.
Whether it is the change we need like relief in Haiti, the change we want like a Republican senator from Massachusetts, or the change we think we want like vintage car collectors with big chins cracking wise late at night just like the old days, the times are and will change. Mr. Dylan was right about that one. Sometimes it is out of our control, like earthquakes. Sometimes votes and TV ratings make the difference. Just remember that for every "necessary" change that we decide on, somewhere, somehow, a redhead is getting the short end of the stick as a result.
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