Why some posts about dog agility?

I said in my profile that I might have some posts about dog agility. That's because my two Shelties, biblack Mr. Robby Burns of Allta and sable Ms. Fia, Fee Spirit of Allta, and I compete nationally in dog agility. In fact, 7+ year old Robby won his class at the September, 2008, National Dog Agility Council Championships in Gillette, Wyoming.

Since I left the university, training and competing with my dogs has become my full time passion (other than the EQ, course). We travel (in an Explorer pulling a trailer) about 2-3 weekends a month to agility events (called trials) all over the west. We've also been to Canada and the midwest.

I'll post some pictures in the future. Maybe Robby with his trophies and ribbons from the 2008 Champs. The trophy is bigger than he is!

I'm Not the Only One

Seems like I wasn't the only one who had a negative reaction to Jack Bauer's speech on Sunday night. Here's some info:

http://ca.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idCATRE50C6YW20090113

In this article, you'll see:

"'If you take a look at the debate over physical torture in our country, I thought it was fantastic of Howard to embrace that and bring it into the show,' Sutherland said.

But he and Gordon said the depictions of torture in the fast-paced show were not intended to condone the practice in the real world.

'It is a television show. The results (Bauer) gets help to move the plot forward. It has always been a dramatic device to show the urgency of the situation,' Sutherland said.

But in the new season, Bauer 'certainly raises the moral question of what is right or wrong,' he added."

Hum, I don't know if I can watch it long enough to hear him raise his moral questions. I also find it interesting that he downplays the impact a television show can have on public discourse. It's a convenient cop out: oh, it's only a TV show.

Somewhere in the article one of the men mentions that Jack is getting older and is confronting issues in a different way. I guess we have to wait til he's McCall's age to figure it out. After all, the EQ makes pretty clear that McCall was a Jack in his earlier days. I'm just glad we see him in his later days!

For another highly interesting article on this issue, see

http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/television/story.html?id=1159233

In this article, called "Jack Bauer, meet Obama: With a new 24 season, and a new real-life president, will the super-agent retire his torturous ways?" Sherri Levine makes the point that 24 was always in lockstep with the Bush administrations counter terrorism politics, writing that "... the show has been in keeping with the Bush administration's belief system almost since the show's inception." Referring to Robert Thompson, pop culture "expert" from Syracuse University, Levin writes:

"But the parallels between 24 and the Bush administration go beyond a shared endorsement of torture. As Thompson explains, the show's themes have consistently paralleled 'the operational procedure of the Bush administration' -- that you just do what needs to be done, even if it's contrary to established systems, traditions and laws.

'It's this single-minded idea that we've got to fight these terrorists by any means necessary,' Thompson says. 'It's a show that has been consistent with the attitudes, the rhetoric and the actions of many people in the Bush administration.'''

Too bad we can't Google reaction to some of the Equalizer episodes (yes, I know there are some articles about the show online, but they don't address these kinds of issues). More to come....

Equalizer and 24

Last night I watched 24 for the first time. I wanted to compare the presentation of spies and the CIA and such with the EQ. Jack Bauer was testifying at a congressional hearing about his activities some time ago (since I haven't watched the show, I don't know if these activities were shown on the program). He is asked about his use of torture during these activities, and he tells the members of Congress that he used torture on a terror suspect because he knew that this suspect had planted a bomb on a bus carrying 45 children. In order to save the children, he had to use these methods. When asked if he knew the methods were against the Geneva Convention, he said yes. But when asked if he regretted using torture, he said no. His certainty that the information he gained saved the children is absolute.

My, how simple the decision to use torture seems in Jack's speech. We use torture; the suspect gives up the information; the children are saved. Unfortunately, this A leads to B leads to C is seldom how life is. And according to most experts on torture, doing A seldom leads to B and almost never to C.

Yet the hero of the show spouts this gibberish. Since I haven't watched the show, I don't know if Jack REALLY thinks this or there is some other motivation. It seems as if he really believes it, so I will take it at face value. And I find it absolutely appalling. The Bush administration has (soon I can use the word : was) justifiably been lambasted for policies which have allowed Americans to use torture, no matter what nice words the administration has used for their practices. As I mentioned above, most experts dismiss torture as a way to find the truth. How can a television show that appeals to so many allow its hero to talk like this?

I could not watch anymore and changed the channel. Later I tuned back in to see what Jack was saying now and heard him opine that nobody who had not been at the front lines could understand what they had to do (or at least he agreed with the terrorist who said this).

Well, back to the Equalizer. When I first watched the EQ, I thought the politics of the show were similar to what I am seeing on 24. But as I tuned in longer, and especially now when I am rewatching it after 20 years, I have understood that EQ's politics were the radical opposite of Jack Bauer and 24. McCall resigned because he had had enough of the dirty tricks and torture and the belief that the ends justify the means, especially the idea that AMERICANS have the right to do anything in the name of their country.

Remember: this was the time of the Iran Contra hearings, with Oliver North also spouting the same justifications that Jack Bauer used (although North was not talking about torture). We knew about the CIA's involvement in many operations that were in the so-called national interest but were often interfering in the internal affairs of another country. McCall wages an ongoing battle against those in the "company"who continued these practices (think: "Prisoners of Conscience" or "Prelude") and time and again implores his friend Control to use his influence to stop at least some of the abhorrent machinations of the company. In the episode "Trial by Ordeal" the existence of an international organization of spies dedicated to freeing prisoners of conscience headed by Control is hinted at.

Jack Bauer or the Equalizer? Choose.

Why the Equalizer?

The television show, The Equalizer (EQ), ran from September 1985 to August 1989 on CBS. When the show first aired, I did not watch because I thought the premise reactionary: A man with a gun helps people in New York solve their problems, and in almost every episode, people are killed. Sounds like a vigilante!

But then a funny thing happened: I finally did watch the show a few times and I was hooked. I thought of my enjoyment of the show like my enjoyment of football: it was (and is) a guilty pleasure. Given my personal and political philosophy, I should not like football, but the truth is, I love it.

And I loved EQ. Of course, I one big reason I loved it was the character Micki Kostmayer, played with sometimes over-the-top craziness by Keith Szarabajka. I thought he was really HOT! After those first few episodes, I taped many of the next 3 seasons of the show on VHS. It's amazing that I did not tape over these original tapes; I had long ago taped over my Miami Vice (another of my favorites) episodes. But for some reason I kept most (but not all) of the EQ tapes, despite the fact that some of them are almost impossible to see because of bad reception in my mountain home. After a few years, USA and A&E broadcast (sometimes terribly butchered versions of) EQ, and I added to my tape collection.

At the end of 2008, 20+ years later, I hauled them out and started watching, and I'm hooked again, party for similar reasons, partly for different reasons. I still think that Micki is hot, but I'm 20+ years older and am more attracted to the main character, 50-something Robert McCall. The unique aspect of this show is that McCall is 50-something, has gray hair, is a little pudgy, and looks and dresses like a banker, yet he is an ex-super spy whom other characters call one of the most dangerous men they know. What a sweet paradox!

Not to say he is hard on the eyes. Although he is 50-something (I won't say "old" because I'm 50-something!), he looks FINE in his fabulously tailored suits with perfectly matching tie, handkerchief, muffler and overcoat, not to mention that interesting little pin he wears on his lapel. (I remember when Edward Woodward, who played McCall, was questioned about the significance of the pin he said it meant nothing, but it was sure fun to speculate.) Back in the day I thought his clothes outdated; now I see them as wonderfully classic, especially in comparison with some of the "hip" clothes other characters wear. (I won't go into how AWFUL women's clothese were then -- eek, how did we WEAR them?)

The OTHER reason I'm watching is that I am fascinated how the show mirrors the political and culture wars of the 1980s. Plus, the writers managed to sneak in wonderfu little references that are fun to ferret out.

I'll soon be posting my thoughts about the show in general and about individual episodes soon.

Why the name?

In the 1980s TV show, The Equalizer, the main character put an ad in the paper offering to help if you were in trouble. The famous line from the ad is "Odds Against You?", thus the name of my blog.

More later.