This is no laughing matter
This week a newspaper reported the difficulty facing today’s comedians.
Larry Amoros, the joke writer behind many — including Joan Rivers — said: “Things have changed. Facebook bleeped me after my joke about taking half a Viagra then making love to a midget. Funny — but today you can’t say anything. They called ‘midget’ hate speech.
“Also, with how to stop your husband from cheating, my answer was ‘Knock him off in his sleep’ — and they suspended me for inciting violence.
“The far right’s humorless. The far left is offended by everything. Calm down, people. These are jokes. Nobody’s holding you hostage. Don’t like my stuff, get a therapist and turn me off.
“Political correctness kills comedy. And soon we’ll only write short essays that you’ll read in the toilet. Next, if I say, ‘The only reason New York is the city that never sleeps is because there’s a Starbucks on every corner,’ they’ll bar me from Times Square.
“The late comic George Carlin said: ‘Political correctness is our newest form of intolerance. Pernicious, it comes disguised as presenting fairness yet attempts to control people’s language with strict codes and rigid rules.’
“That’s the way to fight discrimination? I’m not sure silencing people or forcing them to alter their words is the best method for solving problems that go deeper than speech.”
Carlin left us in 2008. The problem is now 2022.
‘Elvis’ flick gets seal of approval
More gone bones are returning. Now it’s “Elvis.” Tom Hanks plays Colonel Tom Parker. Daughter Lisa Marie Presley: “I’ve seen Baz Luhrmann’s movie ‘Elvis’ twice. It’s spectacular. Exquisite. Newcomer Austin Butler channeled my father beautifully.” Warners is sticking “Elvis” in theaters June 24.
Dems the breaks
1970, before Roe v. Wade, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s New York legally permitted abortions. Pro-lifers fought it. Conservatives dodged the issue. Candidates today are forced to say whether they support New York’s abortion law. If Roe’s overturned so might they be. Polls stick Zeldin behind Hochul. Like he maybe mightn’t run further ahead than his own behind.
On Rand for him
FROM DC: The GOP’s divided. Kentucky’s conservative Rand Paul is against Ukraine’s “aid package.” If the GOP takes the Senate, supportive Mitch McConnell could become history. DC will not fund those billions for long. The GOP only cares about convincing us the election was stolen, and that Jan. 6 was patriotic fervor, not conspiracy to overturn the vote. Our diminished help would force Ukraine to peace on Putin’s terms. Stopping will empower Russia, diminish NATO, relinquish our leadership role, embolden China and North Korea. Putin’s waiting.
MANHATTAN muggers complain credit cards have hurt their income. Too many unemployed people aren’t even carrying cash.
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.
