October 5, 2017 Page 5
Politically Speaking
One Man’s Opinion
Hefner Wasn’t a Hero or Villain: Just a Businessman
By Cristian Vasquez
It’s easy to have an opinion of a person,
especially a vile one, when we disagree with
their views or actions. The death of Playboy
magazine founder Hugh Hefner was not immune
to the waves of praise and criticism,
both of which make for a good chuckle.
When a person isn’t well-liked in life, I
don’t expect death to change those feelings.
If anything, I find it hypocritical when a
person changes their tone about someone
simply because their time on this earth was
to change. At this point it’s no surprise to
read the vile opinion pieces on Hefner, as
well as the endless praise, but I can’t help
but laugh at both.
From the critics of the entrepreneur have
come some of the most exaggerated attacks.
Another Man’s Opinion
By Duane Plank
Sometimes it is difficult, or darn near impossible,
to build a rationale case for some
of the mechanizations of President Trump
and his administration.
Tom Price, richer than all of us together,
was scamming us after hitching rides at our
expense, while he completely failed at his
job as Health and Human Services Secretary.
Trump showed him the door last weekend,
giving him that little box to remove his
privates and get the hell out of Washington.
But, on second thought, isn’t that how
well-run businesses are administered? You
bring someone in and if they aren’t a good
fit, or don’t tow the line, you either coach
them into line or show them the door. Toss
them into the raging waters.
So, Trump was going to “drain the swamp.”
Right. One of his campaign pledges. Well,
who knew that a bunch of the alligators
and vermin in the swamp were pampered
Republicans? Well, anyone paying attention
(sorry, nodding off Hillary)? So last Saturday,
Trump accepted the “resignation” of
Price, who apparently cheated us taxpayers
out of about a million bucks to make some
fly-arounds.
Once the scoundrel was caught, he made
the standard mea culpa, feeling very badly,
went to a yoga class and said he was going to
pay back the money he stole. Trump accepted
his “resignation paperwork” the next day.
Damn deep swamp that President Trump
is attempting to drain from his weekend golf
course getaway
So last week, early in the week, the
folks in Puerto Rico, pummeled by another
hurricane, seemed grateful for the Trump
administration support, with a horrific third
hurricane hitting landfall after the devastation
that nailed Texas and Florida,
Chris “Crybaby” Cuomo, CNN morning
anchor--and I am not sure what he is anchoring,
so help me Anderson Cooper--lost
his mind, went unhinged the other early
morning, yelling at some gentleman on the
screen, screeding Trump wasn’t helping the
troubled Puerto Ricans. Which, shockingly,
was right in step with the DNC-CNN blame
Trump playbook.
Incredibly, the gal down there who was
griping about the Trump’s administration,
some mayor from San Juan, was all on
board for the great response from Trump and
company until late last week, when, apparently,
the Dems or the little pathos Cuomo
sent her a stupid, ill-fitting t-Shirt, scripted
“Help Us, we are Dying!”
Spoiler alert. Yes, people have died. One
death is one to many, obviously. But this
was another natural disaster. Another horrific
One columnist from the NYT described
Hefner as “pornographer and chauvinist,”
among other things and attributed the man’s
fortune to “consumerism and the exploitation
of women.” Personally I never met Hefner, so
I can’t confirm or deny if he was a chauvinist.
As for the pornographer claim, fair point--but
nobody is forced to purchase said materials.
Forbes magazine reported that said industry
earns billions each year, proving that high
demand exists. Which leads me to the columnist’s
consumerism and exploitation claim…
In all honesty, I can’t remember the last
time I bought a magazine. In high school
there were two magazines my group of
friends always passed around: Lowrider and
Rolling Stone. Neither seemed interesting
then, or today, so I remember the covers but
Apparently, the Price Wasn’t Right…Price Shown the Door after Cheating Taxpayers
weather event. Right after God, who hopefully
is sending down an ark to pick me up, my
family, my chosen friends (you know who
you are) to move us the heck out of here.
So the CNN’rs are bloviating, blaming
never their content. Much like my friends
never forced me to read these publications,
Hefner never forced millions of Americans
to purchase his magazine. Hefner created
such an appealing product that people either
wanted to read the magazine, publish their
articles or pose for the centerfold. Emphasis
on wanted. Hefner didn’t force anyone to do
either of the three.
Exploitation is a go-to word for any sensationalist
trying to sell their point of view.
Do images of beautiful people influence a
person’s self-esteem? Does it affect one’s
perception of their self-worth? Of course
they do. It’d be absurd to say there was
absolutely no impact. However, it’s not a
magazine’s responsibility to raise people to
understand the difference between real life
and entertainment. Hefner never forced the
thousands of women in his magazine to pose.
If anything, the magazine had to turn people
away because the desire to grace the cover
was that popular among aspiring models,
actresses and overall good-looking women.
Maybe it’s because I’m not ultra-conservative,
or a prude, or simply because I believe
people are responsible for themselves and
their kids, but I’ve never seen Hugh Hefner
for anything other than a magazine owner.
Hefner’s business began under the perfect
circumstances to eventually grow into the
empire that it became. Rather than trying
to make Hefner a villain and condemn his
business, we should take responsibility for our
personal choices and accept that as a society
we appreciate attractive people. •
Trump for (in their opinion) a slow response
to the devastation in Puerto Rico. Typical
blowhard morons on the left, hiding behind
the cloak of racism (Cuomo), said Trump and
his administration were dragging their feet
on the PR recovery for racist reasons. Even
The Biggest Loser, wasn’t that a weight loss
scam show? Hillary chimed in as she did her
loser lap pimping her pathetic, ghost-written
book And the beat goes on. •