The Redskins and Thunderpussy Support the Slants

How in the name of housewives in aprons did Leave It to Beaver ever get approved for a TV series?

It's borderline subversive enough that June Cleaver always wore a pearl necklace.

Hiding a scar. Right.

Was there ever really such thing as lost innocence?

Backstory: Writers deemed in the show's arc that when Wally was a munchkin, he couldn't pronounce the name of his new baby brother. So, Theodore came out as Beaver.

Inherent lost innocence right from the start?

Maybe a bit.

 

These are different times, perhaps brought out into the open by those commie-pinko-flower-power hippies in the Sixties who'd seen enough of a war started on false pretenses -- Iraq v2.0 showed some never learn -- and three assassinations.

Sarcasm -- the act of calling people idiots without them realizing it -- took on a new dimension since then, fighting the forces of politicial correctness at every turn.

It hasn't been pretty.

As with all things PC in the USA, this leads to the Washington Redskins.

And for that matter, Thunderpussy.

Thank you, Access Hollywood.

They've both become big fans of the Slants, an all-Asian band. The USA's Patent Office refused to trademark their name. Stereotype, they said. We'll sue, the band replied, and their case made it to the Supreme Court.

This is more than interesting.

If the Slants win, the Redskins will inevitably regain the trademark to their name. That's lotsa dosh in Darth Snyder's coffers.

It's no joke to bands like the Slants and Thunderpussy, either. The Ramones have become legends and one of the most influential bands ever, but they never hit major revenues until a buddy designed their logo.

It's a best-seller to this day.

Odds are the two bands here won't get anywhere near the Ramones' stature, but that's why a Supreme Court decision is even more important to them. Dudes and dudettes gotta eat and pay rent.

Learned sources say it's gonna be a close call, but they like their chances.

 

From a 1%er's perspective, though, when this ruling's handed down -- Update: The case was vacated in June 2018 -- Snyder's gonna be either rich or richer.

Dude oughta spend some of his dosh on a few Slants and Thunderpussy T-shirts. Or even a download.

Update: The Slants won their Supreme Court case in June 2017.

 

Update: It took three years, but Thunderpussy was finally granted a trademark.