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Friday, February 05, 2010
From the Seinfeld episode The Opera:
INSIDE JOE DIVOLA'S APARTMENT Jerry: (answering machine) leave a message and I'll call you back, thanks. JOE DIVOLA: Jerry, Joe Divola. *Pbt* *Pbt* *Pbt* I have a hair on my tongue, I can't get it off, you know how much I hate that? Course you do, you put it there. I know what you said about me Seinfeld. I know you bad mouthed me to the execs at NBC, put the kibosh on my deal. Now I'm gonna put the kibosh on you. You know I've kiboshed before, and I will kibosh again. From yesterday's Los Angeles Times Business section: Doesn't look like comedian turned senator Al Franken is planning a return to NBC's "Saturday Night Live" anytime soon. In his opening remarks about the proposed Comcast-NBC deal at a hearing held by the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, Franken (D-Minn.) ripped into the deal and the risks it could present to not only consumers but media competition as well. Franken, who was a regular on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for years and also had a short-lived sitcom on the network called "Lateline" in the late 1990s, dismissed the claims made by Comcast and NBC Universal that the partnering of the nation's largest broadband and cable provider with the entertainment giant would not harm competitors or the public. "You'll have to excuse me if I don't trust these promises, and that is from experience in this business," Franken snapped. I was made aware of Franken's attempt to put the kibosh on NBC via an e-mail from Cory. He sees a possible motivation for Franken's conduct that hasn't been much remarked on: I'm not sure if you watched C-SPAN yesterday but there was a Senate committee hearing going on about the NBC/Comcast merger. When Al Franken got his chance to talk he went after the Comcast and NBC executives with a vengeance, accusing them of being dishonest and interrupting them repeatedly. I think it's worth pointing out that there's bad blood between Franken and NBC, especially since he left SNL in a huff after he lost the Weekend Update slot to Norm Macdonald. Is he using his political power to settle a career grudge? Nobody seems to be writing about this possible alternative motive. It would hardly be shocking to imagine that Franken sees this as an opportunity for payback. For all the humiliations he suffered at the hands of network executives. For all the times he felt that they were looking down their noses at him while he was just a performer trying to get by. Now, the tables are turned (literally). He's in the position of power and he's going to use it for all its worth to extract his pound of flesh from NBC executives. It's hard to say if the story of Minnesota's angry clown will play out more as tragedy or farce. It's easy to say that we're certain to plenty of more drama in this theater of the absurd before the final aria is sung. Labels: Franken, Life Resembles Seinfeld Tuesday, January 12, 2010
From the Seinfeld episode The Summer of George:
[Doctor comes.] Doctor: Mr. Costanza...your legs have sustained extensive trauma. Apparently your body was in the state of advanced atrophy, due to a period of extreme inactivity. But with a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck, I think there's a good chance you may, one day, walk again. [Doctor leaves.] From an article in today's WSJ called Watching TV Linked To Higher Risk of Death: In a provocative look at the impact of sedentary behavior on health, a new study links time watching television to an increased risk of death. The results are supported by an emerging field of research that shows how prolonged periods of inactivity can affect the body's processing of fats and other substances that contribute to heart risk. Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld Monday, November 09, 2009
Every day, the media is filled with stories about the difficult economic times we're facing. With unemployment and foreclosures rising there's no doubt that a lot of Americans are hurting out there. With some many people in so much need, it's a time when Americans look to their charities to help ease the suffering. Those of us who can look for extra ways we can help these organizations by donating our time, money, and goods.
Which is why it's frustrating to discover just how difficult it can be to give stuff away. Case in point is a baby crib that we have. It's a crib in very good condition that was passed on to us by my wife's sister. I believe it was originally produced in Italy and when it came out was among the top of the crib line. It's well-designed and made and is perfectly safe. It served our needs well and now that we no longer need it, want to pass it on to a charity. So far, I think my wife has contacted four or five different organizations and been told "thanks but no thanks" by each and every one. Including a "Crisis Nursery" that informed her that they only accept new items. Now, I understand that there are a lot of good reasons for not taking used children's items, but when you include the word "Crisis" in your group name I would assume that the urgency of the need would cause you to take a more prudent approach to what you would accept. This experience brings three things to mind: #1 A piece JB scribbled back when he was living in Boston before Fraters Libertas was even a blog: To put it in perspective, you are the beggar and you are trying to choose how, where, when and what I am donating. Had I known it would be this big of a pain I would have dumped it all in Boston harbor with the rest of my garbage. #2 The Seinfeld episode called The Muffin Tops: Rebecca: Excuse me, I'm Rebecca DeMornay from the homeless shelter. Elaine: Oh, hi. Rebecca: Are you the ones leaving the muffing pieces behind our shelter? Elaine: You been enjoying them? Rebecca: They're just stumps. Elaine: Well they're perfectly edible. Rebecca: Oh, so you just assume that the homeless will eat them, they'll eat anything? Mr. Lippman: No no, we just thought... Rebecca: I know what you thought. They don't have homes, they don't have jobs, what do they need the top of a muffin for? They're lucky to get the stumps. Elaine: If the homeless don't like them the homeless don't have to eat them. Rebecca: The homeless don't like them. #3 The Seinfeld episode called The Bookstore: REBECCA: (Gesturing toward the book) So, you want to donate this to charity? GEORGE: Well, I assume there's some sort of write-off. REBECCA: What's the value of the book? GEORGE: Uh, about two hundred dollars, Miss DeMooney. REBECCA: (Correcting. Stern) It's DeMornay. Rebecca DeMornay. GEORGE: Oh. REBECCA: (Opens the cover of the book) Oh, wait a second. (Certain) This book has been in the bathroom. GEORGE: (Nervous) Wh-what are you talking about? That--that's ridiculous. REBECCA: It's been flagged. I know. I used to work in a Brentano's. Mister, we're trying to help the homeless here--it's bad enough that we have some nut out there trying to strap 'em to a rickshaw! GEORGE: (Desperate to get rid of the book) Alright, I, I'll just take fifty. Do--do we have a deal? REBECCA: Yeah, and here it is: You get your toilet book out of here, and I won't jump over this counter and punch you in the brain! GEORGE: I could take it in merchandise... Just to be clear, our crib has not been flagged. If you need a crib, know someone who needs a crib, or knows of a group that will accept a perfectly good crib, please drop me a line. It would be a shame if we have to end up using it for kindling. Labels: Good Works, Life Resembles Seinfeld Saturday, August 22, 2009
An editorial in today's WSJ on the declining need for the US Postal Service:
Whatever possessed President Obama to mention the travails of the post office while discussing health care the other day, his timing was certainly apt. The Postal Service is headed toward a loss of $7 billion this year and another $7 billion in 2010. Naturally, Congress is planning another bailout rather than the kind of reform that would recognize how technology has transformed modern communications. Most mail today is delivered electronically via email. Traditional postal mail volume has fallen by nearly 20% since 2000, and the average household gets one-third fewer letters than a decade ago. But this is only the first stage of the decline. The transition to Internet communications means that the Postal Service's core business--from paying bills, to sending birthday greetings, to delivering magazine--is slowly vanishing. This is on top of the package business that has already been transformed by Federal Express and UPS. Seinfeld episode #161 which originally aired in October 1997 called The Junk Mail: Postal Employee: "May I help you?" Kramer: "Yeah, I'd like to cancel my mail." Postal Employee: "Certainly. How long would you like us to hold it?" Kramer: "Oh, no, no. I don't think you get me. I want out, permanently." Newman: "I'll handle this, Violet. Why don't you take your three hour break? Oh, calm down, everyone. No one's cancelling any mail." Kramer: "Oh, yes, I am." Newman: "What about your bills?" Kramer: "The bank can pay 'em." Newman: "The bank. What about your cards and letters?" Kramer: "E-mail, telephones, fax machines. Fedex, telex, telegrams, holograms." Newman: "All right, it's true! Of course nobody needs mail. What do you think, you're so clever for figuring that out? But you don't know the half of what goes on here. So just walk away, Kramer. I beg of you." Supervisor: "Is everything all right here, Postal Employee Newman?" Newman: "Yes, sir, I believe everything is all squared away. Isn't it, Mr. Kramer?" Kramer: "Oh, yeah. As long as I stop getting mail!" Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld Sunday, August 09, 2009
In yesterday's WSJ, Theodore Dalrymple opined that when it comes to health care in the U.K. dogs have better options than people:
In the last few years, I have had the opportunity to compare the human and veterinary health services of Great Britain, and on the whole it is better to be a dog. As a British dog, you get to choose (through an intermediary, I admit) your veterinarian. If you don?t like him, you can pick up your leash and go elsewhere, that very day if necessary. Any vet will see you straight away, there is no delay in such investigations as you may need, and treatment is immediate. There are no waiting lists for dogs, no operations postponed because something more important has come up, no appalling stories of dogs being made to wait for years because other dogs--or hamsters--come first. he conditions in which you receive your treatment are much more pleasant than British humans have to endure. For one thing, there is no bureaucracy to be negotiated with the skill of a white-water canoeist; above all, the atmosphere is different. There is no tension, no feeling that one more patient will bring the whole system to the point of collapse, and all the staff go off with nervous breakdowns. In the waiting rooms, a perfect calm reigns; the patients? relatives are not on the verge of hysteria, and do not suspect that the system is cheating their loved one, for economic reasons, of the treatment which he needs. The relatives are united by their concern for the welfare of each other?s loved one. They are not terrified that someone is getting more out of the system than they. Which make one wonder if some enterprising Brits elect to follow the course of Kramer in the Seinfeld episode The Andrea Doria: (While Kramer's walking with his new found dog, Smuckers, he meets up with George. Kramer and the dog both start coughing) KRAMER: (Between coughs) Hey. GEORGE: What's with the dog? KRAMER: (Petting Smuckers) Yeah, this is Smuckers. I borrowed him. (Starts coughing) GEORGE: Oh... (Smuckers coughs) KRAMER: (Pointing at the dog) Yeah, we share the same affliction, so I'm gonna have a vet check us out. GEORGE: A vet? KRAMER: Oh, I'll take a vet over an M.D. any day. They gotta be able to cure a (Snaps his fingers in rhythm with his words) lizard, a chicken, a pig, a frog (Stops snapping)--all on the same day. GEORGE: So, if I may jump ahead--you're gonna take dog medicine? KRAMER: (Smiling) You bet we are! Huh, Smuckers? (Smuckers coughs. They turn to leave) I'll see ya. Labels: Health care, Life Resembles Seinfeld Friday, February 06, 2009
From the Albany Times-Union, portrait of Randall Hinton, government employee:
As he tells it, Randall Hinton is paid $93,803 a year to do nothing. He spends much of his workday at the State Insurance Fund donning headphones, listening to rock 'n' roll, blues or classical tunes and his superiors are cool with that.Which kind of reminds me of another guy who couldn't be fired, George Costanza, in the Seinfeld episode, The Voice: Thomassoulo: George, I've realized we've signed a one-year contract with you, but at this point I think it's best that we both go our separate ways.Again, from the Albany Times-Union: Hinton contends he is without portfolio as retaliation for suing Gov. George Pataki's administration 10 years ago, alleging discrimination then, too. That was after getting stuck in a storeroom for two years for refusing to leave his post at the Department of Environmental Conservation heading investigations to make room for a Republican appointee, he said.From Seinfeld: Jerry: So, what's going on?(Hat tip, JB) Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld Friday, April 18, 2008
The London Daily Mail asks and answers:
This is the kind of question Mrs Merton might ask: 'So, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, what do you see in a 24-year-old, sensationally beautiful gymnast with a penchant for posing semi-naked that you don't see in your lovely, middle-aged, matronly wife Ludmilla. It is also the kind of question that hardly needs answering for the millions who have tuned in to the YouTube film of Alina Kabaeva performing a decidedly provocative gymnastic routine. This sudden, frenzied interest in a woman who, until yesterday, was frankly a rather obscure Russian athlete, comes after a Moscow newspaper reported that Mr Putin recently split with Ludmilla and is preparing to marry the young and very pretty Miss Kabaeva. Seinfeld--The Gymnast: KRAMER: Oh yeah. Oh yeah, that's her. (feminine grunts and sighs can be heard as they watch the tape) Look at the height, Jerry, the extension! Now watch the tuck. Handstand, half-turn, giant into a straddle, back into another handstand. Nice kip. Reverse hecht. Oh, nice leg extension, good form! Now, here comes the big dismount. Look at the rotation, full in, double back, and she sticks the landing! (gets up to leave as George and Jerry continue to watch, mouths agape) Perhaps you'd like to keep the tape? (silence) Well, I'll take that as a yes. Hopefully, Vlad has better results than Jerry did. JERRY: Well...Frankly, I thought, you know, I was gonna kinda' be like the apparatus. Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld Thursday, October 04, 2007
Media Matters' laughably false charge last week about Rush Limbaugh and the phony soldiers:
During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers." Kramer getting laughs in the Seinfeld episode "The Parking Space", originally airing April 22, 1992: Kramer: Oh hey, you know I invited Mike Moffit. You don't mind, do you? Jerry: No, I like Mike. Kramer: Yeah, I just got off the phone with him, you know we had a great conversation. Jerry: Oh yeah? What did you talk about? Kramer: Well actually we talked about you. Yeah. He had some pretty interesting things to say. Jerry: Oh yeah? What did he say? Kramer: You have to know everything, don't you? Jerry: No, come on, Kramer. What did he say? Kramer: Why is that? Why do you have to know everything? Jerry: Kramer, just tell me what the guy said. Kramer: Beg me. Jerry: Please, don't make me beg. Kramer: No no no, I want you to beg me. And I don't want you to say it, I just want you to put some beg into it. Go on. Jerry: Kramer, please tell me what the guy said. Kramer: No no no, that's no good. No, I really don't think that's a beg. No, it's close, but uh .... Jerry: Kramer! Kramer: Look, I can't say anything. You know, the guy told me the stuff in confidence, I'd be betraying a friend. Jerry: Well you can't just mention it and then not tell me. Kramer: Alright. I'll tell you but you can't say anything to him. Jerry: I'm not saying anything, I'm putting it in the vault, I'm locking the vault, it's a vault! Kramer: He thinks you're a phony. Jerry: He what? Kramer: I told you, he thinks you're a phony. Jerry: A phony? He called me a phony? Kramer: A big phony. A big one. Jerry: Why did you tell me that if I can't say anything?! Kramer: You begged me. Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld Friday, February 09, 2007
Disturbing news out of Santa Barbara, CA:
Three reporters - Dawn Hobbs, Rob Kuznia and Barney McManigal - were fired Monday evening, while three others - John Zant, Thomas Schultz and Melissa Evans - were terminated Tuesday. I suppose another woeful tale of the heartless and irresponsible Internet gobbling up audience, advertising market share, and formerly tenured positions. Or perhaps another example of corporate greed forcing out the precious gatekeepers of truth and justice. Wrong, ink-stained wretch breath: The firings came after a group of employees displayed a banner reading "Cancel Your Newspaper Today" from a bridge over Highway 101 in Santa Barbara during last Friday morning's rush hour. Well. that's one way to get management's attention. Like most things in life, this reminds me of a Seinfeld episode. The one where George got a job offer from the Mets, but before he could take it, he had to get fired from the Yankees. From the episode, The Millenium: GEORGE: Of course. But I really wanna leave my mark this time, you know, uh. I wanna walk away from the Yankees with people saying 'Wow! Now that guy got canned!' JERRY: So you want to go out in a final blaze of incompetence? GEORGE: Ehh. (nostalgic) Remember that summer at Dairy Queen where I cooled my feet in the soft-serve machine? After several failed attempts to get fired, George resorted to: [Yankee's Parking Lot. George is driving his car in a circle in the parking lot. Trailing behind the car, on a rope, is the World Series trophy which bounces and clatters on the tarmac. George is leaning out of the car window, with a megaphone.] GEORGE: Attention Steinbrenner and front-office morons! Your triumphs mean nothing. You all stink. You can sit on it, and rotate! This is George Costanza. I fear no reprisal. Extension five-one-seven-oh. The tactics are the same, but the motives of the Santa Barbarian reporters were quite different than George's. In fact, getting fired for trashing their employer was the last thing they expected. Crazy logic, you say? Cue the union interpreters: Teamsters Union officials say they are seeking quick action from the National Labor Relations Board in response to this week's firing of six more Santa Barbara News-Press reporters, who were accused by the newspaper's management of "disloyalty." "We asked the NLRB for new urgency under the circumstances," said union attorney Ira Gottlieb. "We'll go to federal court to ask a judge to reinstate these people immediately." The union and reporters contend that the demonstration was federally protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act. Gottlieb assailed the firings as a "blatant, bare-knuckled attack" on the newsroom employees' rights under federal labor law. "They engaged in collective expressive activity on behalf of their union, which is fully protected by the National Labor Relations Act," Gottlieb said. They're gonna to fight for the right to cut their employer's throat. I better search the fine print on my Constitution for that hidden clause. No matter how this dispute is resolved, you have to empathize with the employer, dragged into court for having the unmitigated gall to fire employees actively encouraging their customers to abandon them. Suddenly McClatchy Corporation's $600 million loss on sale of the Star Tribune looks like a reasonable maneuver. Get out while you can boys. I have to wonder what sort of draconian atmosphere, what sort of intolerable depredations, could cause this level of hysterical newsroom employee rebellion? The newspaper has been in turmoil since last July when most of the top editors resigned over alleged newsroom meddling by owner Wendy McCaw. McCaw said she wanted to eliminate "bias" from news stories and also sought stronger local coverage. It all makes sense now. Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld Wednesday, August 30, 2006
From Season 8 of Seinfeld, the episode "The Muffin Tops", incompetent schemer George Costanza relays the details of his new job and the disposition of his old one:
Jerry: Oh right, the new job, how is it? George: I love it. New office, new salary. I'm the new Wilhelm. Jerry: So who's the new you? George: They got a new intern from Francis Louis High. His name is Keith. He comes in Mondays after school. From Editor and Publisher, details on the Toledo Blade's attempts to replace disgruntled union laborers and the disposition of their former jobs: One day after locking out some 200 non-editorial employees in three bargaining units, the general manager of The Blade in Toledo, Ohio says the paper is operating fine, and with less than half the number of workers who were kept out. Joseph Zerbey, vice president and general manager of The Blade, says only 50 to 60 temporaries were needed to replace the locked-out employees that were barred from entry on Sunday. Those included members of the Teamsters Local 20, Toledo Typographical Local 63, and Toledo Mailers Local 1135, according to the paper. How in the world does a company survive replacing 200 full-time employees with one-quarter as many temps? Because of the untenable work rules here, we don't need to replace everyone," Zerbey said. "We brought in a lot fewer people than we locked out." He declined to elaborate on the work rules, but said they require more people on certain jobs than he believes are necessary. "There are rules in there that a normal general manager would never do," he said about the locked-out unions' contracts. "There are restrictions in there that don't allow us to do our job, [and institute] manning requirements." An interesting example of the destructive stranglehold union contracts have over the operations of most American newspapers. Other examples of a more local nature include those eloquently presented in these fine Internet postings. It almost makes you feel sorry for them. But given these same newspapers' advocacy for all things collectivist and anti-corporate in nature, it's hard to feel sympathy over someone reaping what they so cavalierly sow. Speaking of which, believe it or not, there are some potentially very powerful people out there who'd like to mandate the efficiency of the Toledo Blade's former employment contracts for a municipality near you: ... more than the rest, however, [Keith Ellison] emphasizes the role of unions. "We need to talk affirmatively, not defensively, about labor," he says. "What brought the working class into the middle class? Hard work? Ingenuity? Not paying one's parking tickets or taxes? No! The union movement. And what is returning the middle class back to the working class? The absence of the union movement. I believe you can't just have a critique of the system without a vision of how to fix it. One way I know labor is part of this is by how much the corporatist types take aim at labor. When they see having the right equipment so you and I don't get cancer as being too expensive, as cutting into their profits, well, my goodness! Labor has to be part of the fix, even as we negotiate international contracts." Even with that Cynthia McKinney like non-sequitur at the end, any guess which candidate the Star Tribune would endorse come general election time? Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld Friday, June 11, 2004
Canadians should be proud of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's eloquent words today at Ronald Reagan's state funeral. Following Maggie Thatcher is a thankless task, and he performed it admirably. Great pipes too. Has he considered a career in radio?
SAINT PAUL ADDS: I agree on Mulroney, a fine job. Particularly the ending, some elegant verse by W.B. Yeats. From the poem "In the Municipal Gallery Re-visited" Think where man's glory most begins and ends And say my glory was I had such friends. Lines which, coincidently, were also featured in a poignant scene in the Seinfeld episode entitled "The Deal": Elaine: Oh, what is this? You got me something? Kramer: Yeah. Open it. Elaine: Oh Kramer... (She opens it) The bench! You got me the bench that I wanted! (Jerry looks irritated) Kramer: That's pretty good, huh? Jerry: Great. Kramer: Remember when we were standing there and she mentioned it? I made a mental note of it. Jerry: Well goody for you. Kramer: Oh yeah, I'm very sensitive about that. I mean, when someone's birthday comes up, I keep my ears open. So what'd you get her? Jerry: 182 bucks. Kramer: Cash? You gotta be kidding. What kind of gift is that? That's like something her uncle would get her. Elaine: (Reading card) Think where man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was I had such a friend. Kramer: (To Jerry) Yeats. Elaine: Oh Kramer. (They embrace) THE ELDER ADDS: What is this? Power Line? Where are all the pageant pictures and George Will columns? Labels: Canada, Life Resembles Seinfeld Thursday, May 27, 2004
As the Elder reported earlier today, the Minnesota DFL party has been caught with their hands in the liquor cabinet. Democratic legislators, their staffs, other government employees, and lobbyists, having a rip snorting bender, all while on the clock during the last day of the Legislative session (a session which ended without accomplishing any of its major responsibilities).
The life of the Democratic party appears to the distinguished Rep. from Maplewood, Scott Wasiluk. According to the Star Tribune: Rep. Scott Wasiluk, DFL-Maplewood, came over to [another legislator's] office while the House was in a late-night session. "I came to raid your whisky," Wasiluk said. The station showed Wasiluk back on the House floor for a vote on a health care issue, looking sleepy. It also showed him at another point misunderstanding what was taking place on the floor as he monitored the session on TV from Metzen's office. According to unconfirmed reports, the misunderstanding centered around his confusion over why Steve Sviggum was now hosting "Wild on Spring Break" on E! But with the morning after, it looks like Wasiluk has come back to his senses and his reflexes are back in peak condition. Especially those reflexes associated with the jerking of the knee. When confronted with the video evidence of his antics, Wasiluk responded as any good, sober Democrat would. By proposing a new law: Wasiluk issued a statement to the station saying: "I sincerely apologize for my recent behavior. If the public feels additional laws should be passed to improve public confidence in the work of legislators, I would vote for it." Please pass a state law, prevent me from drinking on the job again! Actually it might not be such a bad idea to outlaw legislating under the influence. It seems only fair since the government has already outlawed the citizens from voting while drunk. Seems to me if we can't ease the pain of Minnesota government by drinking ourselves numb, they shouldn't be able to either. Getting back to Wasiluk's laughable reaction to the allegations, the parallels are striking with the Seinfeld episode where George gets confronted by his boss about having sex with the cleaning woman at his office. (Yes, there is a direct reference to all significant human endeavors in either the Simpsons or Seinfeld). From the episode, "The Red Dot" (originally airing December 11, 1991): Boss: I'm going to get right to the point. It has come to my attention that you and the cleaning woman have engaged in sexual intercourse on the desk in your office. Is that correct? George: Who said that? Boss: She did. George: Was that wrong? Should I have not done that? I tell you I gotta plead ignorance on this thing because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing was frowned upon, you know, cause I've worked in a lot of offices and I tell you people do that all the time. Lord knows the DFL won't take any substantive remedial action on Wasiluk. But here's hoping the folks in his district in Maplewood have the same good sense as George's boss, who responded to ridiculous excuses in the only appropriate manner: Boss: You're fired. Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld, Politics-Local (04-05) Tuesday, February 10, 2004
From this past Sunday?s New York Times, an article entitled "France Has a State Religion: Secularism":
In those days, good revolutionary citizens were forced to wear emblems of the republic. Revolutionaries donned the "cockade," a round red, white and blue ribbon signifying a citizen's liberty; one could be imprisoned for refusing to wear it. From the Seinfeld episode entitled ?The Sponge? - originally aired December 7, 1995: New scene - Kramer in the AIDS walk. WALKER #1: Hey, where's your ribbon? KRAMER: Oh, I don't wear the ribbon. WALKER #2: Oh, you don't wear the ribbon? Aren't you against AIDS? KRAMER: Yeah, I'm against AIDS. I mean, I'm walking, aren't I? I just don't wear the ribbon. WALKER #3: Who do you think you are? WALKER #1: Put the ribbon on! WALKER #2: Hey, Cedric! Bob! This guy won't wear a ribbon! BOB: So! What's it going to be? Are you going to wear the ribbon? KRAMER (nervously): No! Never. BOB: But I am wearing the ribbon. He is wearing the ribbon. We are all wearing the ribbon! So why aren't you going to wear the ribbon!? KRAMER: This is America! I don't have to wear anything I don't want to wear! CEDRIC: What are we gonna do with him? BOB: I guess we are just going to have to teach him to wear the ribbon! Labels: Life Resembles Seinfeld
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