This past Tuesday, March 2, marked 174 years since the Republic of Texas was born.
There are state-wide festivities, chili cook-offs, home tours, and celebrations going on all week. In Lockhart, where I live, Mayor James “Jimmy” Bertram gave the Key to the City and a Proclamation to a foul-mouthed, rude, crude, Stern-wannabe, Austin disc jockey "Charlie F'ing Hodge."
Unbelievable!
Before today, I had never heard of Charlie Hodge, with or without the profane middle name, so I went to KLBJ’s website and listened to some clips from Tuesday’s show. In these few minutes I heard the Lord's name taken in vain; crude laughter about losing one’s “toot tolerance” and “scooping it off the floor”; a young woman urged on to perform phone flatulence; promotional "Dragon-sackings" (adultery/fornication?) which refers to a man getting into a sleeping bag naked with a likewise naked 60-year old woman for 10 minutes; and racial mockery of Black dialect. There was more, but that’s all I could take.
“NOW THEREFORE, I, James Bertram, by the authority vested in me as the Mayor of the City of Lockhart Texas do hereby proclaim March 2, 2010 as “Charlie Hodge Day” and encourage all citizens to join in the celebration by acknowledging Charlie Hodge and listening to “The Rock n’ Roll Half-time Show” on a daily basis.”
How dare you, Mr. Bertram, tell me to be “encouraged” or to “celebrate” or to “acknowledge” or to “listen on a daily basis” to this filth!! Have you ever considered what the word acknowledge means, Mr. Bertram?
Acknowledge: “to receive with respect”
No way.
How about if we take those clips and play them this Sunday morning from the pulpits of Lockhart’s Christ-honoring churches, so that mothers and fathers and children and aged grandmothers and grampas--you know, all those “citizens” you spoke on behalf of so presumptuously, can listen to them? Would you like that?
Or how about if we share the Charlie “F-ing” Hodge show at the City of Lockhart’s website where new residents and businesses are beckoned: “We stand ready to welcome even more families and businesses looking for an escape from the hassles of big city life.” The embarrassing drivel I heard was NOT family-friendly, nor very business-like, to say the least!
Potential Black families considering relocating to Lockhart would be very entertained to listen to the repetitive clip of an injured Black man asking for an “amulance.” Do you think it is funny to mock a man because of a racial dialect? Charlie “F-ing” Dodge was laughing heartily, and you call him “an example of a model citizen” and a “great steward of the public airwaves” and say that he “makes great contributions to the society at large.”
What you did is so wrong on many levels.
First, Mr. Bertram, you used “vested authority” abusively. You were elected to manage the affairs of our City in a proper and upright manner. Your job description does not include pandering to shock jocks.
Second, you did this on Election Day. I cannot prove it, but this sure smells like a cheap publicity shot by someone desperate for votes. Prostitution can take sundry forms, and in my opinion, you have pimped the character and good name of the City of Lockhart for a few pieces of chad.
Third, you made a mockery of those who truly deserve recognition. In February of last year, Chesley B. Sullenberger III, pilot of US Airways Flight 1549, safely landed in the Hudson River after a mid-air bird collision, saving the lives of all 155 people on board. Mr. Sullenberger’s hometown of Danville, Calif, gave him a Key to the City.
In May, Captain Richard Phillips and crewman William Rios fought Somali pirates on the Maersk Alabama. The City of New York recognized their heroism with Keys to the City.
In November, the New York Yankees won the World Series. The players, coaches, and owners were given Keys to the City.
And lastly, you disgraced the remembrance of Texas Independence Day. The Republic of Texas was formed by valiant men who were willing to lay down their lives for the cause of liberty. However, both you and Charlie “F-ing” Hodge confuse Liberty with Licentiousness. The two cannot co-exist. If you choose to live unrestrained by law, propriety, or morality, you cannot be free. Such men are fools and do not deserve liberty--and definitely NOT the Key to the City.
Mr. Bertram, in the Name of decency, I demand that you immediately rescind this Proclamation and apologize to the City of Lockhart.
