hegemony rules

Hey, I know! Let's remake that fantastic 1984 Bob Geldof classic, "Do They Know It's Christmas," and once again impress upon the rest of the world our Eurocentric/Christian values. I mean, who wouldn't sing along with lines like this?

And there won't be snow in Africa
This Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Hey, here's something else! I think it's awesome that Wal-Mart has decided not to stock Jon Stewart's brilliant satirical textbook, America (The Book), because it contains an image of the Supreme Court Justices' heads super-imposed on aging naked bodies.

"We were not aware of the image that was in the book (when Wal-Mart ordered it) and we felt the majority of our customers would not be comfortable with it," said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Karen Burk. "We offer what we think our customers want to buy. That just makes good business sense."

Jamie Raab, a publisher for Warner Books, which produced "America," said the naked justice joke fits perfectly with the book's theme.

"It's not gratuitous and it's very much in tune with the rest of the book," Raab said. "It's funny, yet to the point. When you undress the Supreme Court justices, they're just men and women and you have to judge them on who they are and what they do. It makes you look and think and laugh."

I love the "We offer what we think our customers want to buy" line. Um, isn't this book like number one on the the NYT Best-Seller List? Ahh, but you're right. I mean, isn't Wal-Mart the ultimate arbiter of good taste? I think that little smiley-face-rollback-guy would agree with me.