Film Actors Guild (FAG) strikes again...
Friday, January 13, 2006
I was really getting concerned here lately that I was running out of things to write about in this blog. But then Pamela Anderson opened her mouth (to talk, sick-o) and suddenly I had material with which to work (side note: Damn you, Grammar Club, for making me correct prepositional phrases at the end of sentences.) Check out this article from CNN.com today.Pamela Anderson takes on Colonel Sanders
TV star leads campaign to remove a bust of 'cruel' KFC founder from Kentucky state capitol.January 13, 2006: 2:43 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNN) - Television star Pamela Anderson is leading a campaign to have the bust of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Harland Sanders removed from the Kentucky state capitol.
In a letter to Gov. Ernie Fletcher, the former Baywatch star says suppliers for the fast food chain, now called KFC, engage in cruel and unusual treatment of chickens, including tearing the heads off of live birds, spitting tobacco into their eyes and spray-painting their faces.
Anderson wrote the letter with the help of People for the Ethical Treatment of animals. In a statement issued by PETA, Anderson said, "The bust of Colonel Sanders stands as a monument to cruelty and has no place in the Kentucky state
capitol."Brett Halle, communications director for the governor, told CNN, "We understand that people have a passion for their causes, but Harland Sanders is a beloved man, and as far as this state is concerned, he exemplifies the best of Kentucky. The governor has no intention of moving his statue. If we were going to move it, it would be to a more prominent position where more people could see it."
A spokeswoman for KFC told CNN that the letter is "just another misguided publicity stunt by PETA in their attempt to create a vegan society."
--from CNN Business News Assignment Editor Tom Ziegler
Okay, so most people won't care much about this, but as a native Kentuckian it really struck a nerve. First let's learn a little history about the so-called "cruel" founder of KFC, Colonel Harlan Sanders. This is going to be long, so if you're the type who strives on sound bites and never learning all the details, I suggest you stop reading this entry now.
As you see, the Colonel lived quite a life. If you have ever been to Corbin, Kentucky, then you truly realize the enormity of this man's accomplishments. He was a visionary and a risk-taker who embodied the American ideal of hard work. Compare that to Pamela Anderson, who tackles the daunting task of putting on makeup and showing off her grossly oversized fake boobs (which, I will admit, I have ogled).
(taken from the official KFC website)
Colonel Harland Sanders, born September 9, 1890, actively began franchising his chicken business at the age of 65. Now, the KFC® business he started has grown to be one of the largest quick service food service systems in the world. And Colonel Sanders, a quick service restaurant pioneer, has become a symbol of entrepreneurial spirit.
When the Colonel was six, his father died. His mother was forced to go to work, and young Harland had to take care of his three-year-old brother and baby sister. This meant doing much of the family cooking. By the age of seven, he was a master of several regional dishes.
At age 10, he got his first job working on a nearby farm for $2 a month. When he was 12, his mother remarried and he left his home near Henryville, Ind., for a job on a farm in Greenwood, Ind. He held a series of jobs over the next few years, first as a 15-year-old streetcar conductor in New Albany, Ind., and then as a 16-year-old private, soldiering for six months in Cuba.
After that he was a railroad fireman, studied law by correspondence, practiced in justice of the peace courts, sold insurance, operated an Ohio River steamboat ferry, sold tires, and operated service stations. When he was 40, the Colonel began cooking for hungry travelers who stopped at his service station in Corbin, Ky. He didn't have a restaurant then, but served folks on his own dining table in the living quarters of his service station.
As more people started coming just for food, he moved across the street to a motel and restaurant that seated 142 people. Over the next nine years, he perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and the basic cooking technique that is still used today.
Sander's fame grew. Governor Ruby Laffoon made him a Kentucky Colonel in 1935 in recognition of his contributions to the state's cuisine. And in 1939, his establishment was first listed in Duncan Hines' "Adventures in Good Eating."
In the early 1950s a new interstate highway was planned to bypass the town of Corbin. Seeing an end to his business, the Colonel auctioned off his operations. After paying his bills, he was reduced to living on his $105 Social Security checks.
Confident of the quality of his fried chicken, the Colonel devoted himself to the chicken franchising business that he started in 1952. He traveled across the country by car from restaurant to restaurant, cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and their employees. If the reaction was favorable, he entered into a handshake agreement on a deal that stipulated a payment to him of a nickel for each chicken the restaurant sold. By 1964, Colonel Sanders had more than 600 franchised outlets for his chicken in the United States and Canada. That year, he sold his interest in the U.S. company for $2 million to a group of investors including John Y. Brown Jr., who later was governor of Kentucky from 1980 to 1984. The Colonel remained a public spokesman for the company. In 1976, an independent survey ranked the Colonel as the world's second most recognizable celebrity.
Until he was fatally stricken with leukemia in 1980 at the age of 90, the Colonel traveled 250,000 miles a year visiting the KFC restaurants around the world.
Many people are confused as to why he is referred to as the "Colonel." Most think he was a colonel in the Civil War, or that he played on the Kentucky Colonels of the now-defunct American Basketball Association (ABA). The truth is that "Colonel" is an honorary title bestowed upon him by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The title of Kentucky Colonel is awarded to someone whose actions advance the betterment of Kentucky or Kentuckians.
Given the weight that this title carries in the Bluegrass State, it comes as no surprise that the governor's office responded by saying they move the Colonel's bust to a "more prominent position where more people could see it."(from Wikipedia.com)
Kentucky Colonel is a honorary title bestowed upon individuals by approval of the Governor of Kentucky. It is not a military rank, requires no duties, and carries with it no pay or other compensation other than membership in The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.
The title Kentucky Colonel has been around since 1813. The Kentucky Militia had just returned from a highly successful "War of 1812" campaign that resulted in control of the Northwest being returned to the United States. When the militia disbanded, Governor Isaac Shelby commissioned Charles S. Todd, one of his officers in the campaign, as an aide-de-camp on the Governor's Staff with the rank and grade of Colonel. Todd married Shelby's youngest daughter two years later.
Early Colonels actually served military roles. In the latter part of the 1800's, the position took on a more ceremonial function. Colonels in uniform attended functions at the Governor's mansion and stood as symbolic guards at state events. By the late 1800's, the title had become more of an honorary one. In fact the title is handed out so freely that in recent years the Kentucky state legislature has taken steps to limit how many may be granted in a given year.
Award of the title requires nomination from an existing Colonel. Nominators are expected to consider the nominee's service and contributions to the Global community before making a nomination. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. The sitting Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky bestows the honor of a Colonel's Commission, by issuance of a certificate.
So now that you have an idea of why I was so easily set off by Mrs. Anderson's comments, let's take a more object look at the absurdity of her argument (if you can call it that).
- "The bust of Colonel Sanders stands as a monument to cruelty..."
If anything, the bust of Harlan Sanders stands as a monument to hard work and entrepreneurialism and the reward that their combination can bring. The man never had a thing given to him in his entire life. Did he complain or demand better treatment? No. He won his bread one day at a time. It wasn't until he was over 60 years old and living on a $105 Social Security check that he started the business that would eventually give him fortune and (unexpected) fame.
It is also rather far-fetched to link Colonel Sanders to cruelty to animals. I agree that farmers spray-painting the faces of live chickens is cruel and abhorent, but Harlan Sanders isn't the one telling farmers to commit this foul act. In fact, he hast had little say in how the company has been run since he sold his share in 1964. He has had absolutely nothing to say since he died in 1980!
Instead of protesting a bust of a great man, she should be addressing the responsible parties: the executives of Yum! Brands and the farmers themselves. While she's at it, maybe she should demand that Yum! Brands cease and desist the association of the Colonel with KFC until the cruely is stopped. - "...and has no place in the Kentucky state capitol."
Given the contributions this man has made to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, if for no other reason than making it a household name worldwide for something other than marijuana-growing, the state capitol building is exactly the place where he should be honored.
Most people outside of the Bluegrass State think of Kentuckians as just a bunch of slack-jawed yokels and rednecks who can't contribute to this nation. Sometimes this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy amongst to people who live in the Commonwealth, as they are constantly reminded of the stereotype when they venture to other parts of the country. Fellow Kentuckians like Colonel Harlan Sanders stand as a beacon of encouragement to those citizens who ignore the stereotypes and put their faith in hard work.
Personally, I believe uneducated, self-promoting actors and actresses such as Pamela Anderson have no place in the political arena.
Leave your response