Johnny Carson and Jane Fonda Behaving Badly
Jane Fonda’s appetite for exercising her free speech landed her in hot water this week; and it had nothing to do with reminiscing about her opposition to Vietnam or the war in Iraq.
The 70-year old academy award actress while appearing on the Today Show Thursday blurted out the C-word in reference to her appearance in the play the ``Vagina Monologues'', now celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Host Meredith Vieira, a little red-faced, apologized for Fonda’s slang for vagina, 10 minutes later, as did NBC.
When the blogs were buzzing about this during the week, my mind raced back to Johnny Carson’s memorable line surrounding the P word. I can't seem to verify if this quip was really spoken by Carson or it's just another Urban Legend. But as the story goes, a guest, holding a kitten in her lap, asked the nighttime host if he would like to pet her p…. Johnny shot back,`` I’d love to, if you would just remove that damn cat.’’ Strangely enough, it was Jane Fonda who questioned Carson of his double entendre while appearing on his show.
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With the presidential primaries and Roger Clemens monopolizing the headlines this past week, you might have missed the announcement that the price of stamps will increase to 42 cents beginning May 12th. It was just last May when stamps were increased by 2 cents. So why another increase so soon? The answer is the U.S Postal Service no longer has to go through the independent Postal Regulatory Commission to get a rate increase, a procedure that used to take up to a year. All that is required now is a 45-day notice and the increase justified as being within the rate of inflation.
While some us have to wait until late in the afternoon, approaching dinner hour, before hearing the footsteps of our mail carrier, it’s interesting to note that up until 1950, mail was delivered twice a day in most urban areas.
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
Standard Oil and ITT used to enjoy unrestrained authority over pricing power while dominating a market. They grew to become huge monopolies that seemed to be immune from the constraints of the Sherman Act. Congress should break up the US Postal monopoly due to price gouging and its inefficiency in delivering information. The consequence would stimulate competition in the mail delivery system from several carriers and thereby reduce costs while spurring innovation in technology that would speed distribution. Carriers could be required to pass and maintain security clearance procedures. It is inconceivable, in the present environment of rapid fire exchange of information, that the cumbersome postal system lumbers along, eventually getting important information to its intended source. The speed and reliability of the telegraph replaced the horse. The Internet, if refined to distribute and receive as a secure medium (as banks do)joined with an industry consisting of several carriers, would end the outdated postal system.
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