New Poem: UNREPENTANT OLD BILL

 he comes out

 with Twitter photo

 head bowed, arm raised

 right fist clenched in midair

 trying hard to appropriate 

 Tommie Smith and John Carlos in 1968

 at the Mexico City Olympics 

>

 Tommie and John were fighting 

 for something bigger, more important 

 than the determination to drug and rape

 and have no compassion for the sixty victims 

 plus the money and the iron will

 to insist on getting out of prison early

 on a technicality previously judged not strong enough 

 to stop the trial which sent him to prison

>

 let the gaslight TV interview victory lap begin

Bill Cosby's dubious definition of sexual consent.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/bill-cosby-charged-consent-1.3385548

From the Associated Press article:
In his deposition, Cosby said he gave [Andrea] Constand three half-pills of Benadryl for stress without telling her what they were.  He said he groped Constand, taking her silence as a green light.

Regarding Bill Cosby and THE COSBY SHOW.

http://www.inquisitr.com/2479585/keshia-knight-pulliam-defends-the-cosby-show-says-the-legacy-shouldnt-be-tarnished-just-because-the-actor-is/


http://www.vibe.com/2015/10/malcolm-jamal-warner-bill-cosby-allegations/

Now that Keshia Knight Pulliam and Malcolm-Jamal Warner have taken the floor (perhaps due to requests to "come through" for Bill Cosby when he's taking deposition questions with regards to a woman he allegedly assaulted), it's time to ponder whether or not televised repeats of THE COSBY SHOW will drift towards oblivion, with further decline in its revenue stream.

I'm guessing THE COSBY SHOW will continue to be viewed somewhere in the world every day--though it may now be regarded more as a curio of its era (the 80s was big on TV which, lessons to young people aside, espoused IT'S GREAT TO BE RICH!)--credited with reviving the then-almost-dead sitcom genre.

Perhaps the most important legacy of COSBY is the popularity of diverse family sitcoms on Disney/ABC: blackish, FRESH OFF THE BOAT and DR. KEN.

But, with regards to Ms. Pulliam and Mr. Warner, the diminishment of THE COSBY SHOW is due to the alleged behavior of Bill Cosby himself (keep in mind Cosby's settlement with Andrea Constand), plus the smear-the-complainants repugnance orchestrated by Cosby and his attorneys.

In any event, Bill Cosby has now done a lot (though inadvertently) to embolden the victimized (in this and other cases involving Show Business figures--named or not) to speak out on issues of sexual harassment, rape and coercion by way of unintentional drug intake.

More news on the collision of public and private Bill Cosby.

Veteran comedian/actor and alleged serial rapist Bill Cosby has been rebuked by Marquette University for conduct unbecoming Jesuit values:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/marquette-university-strips-bill-cosby-of-honorary-degree-b99583730z1-329253351.html

And by Fordham University too--same reason as above:
http://mashable.com/2015/09/24/fordham-university-bill-cosby/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it#0byth_joPPqj

Finally, Cosby is seeking to scuttle public view of his upcoming deposition in a lawsuit filed by Judy Huth, who claims Cosby sexually assaulted her at the age of 15 at the Playboy Mansion:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/24/cosby-seeks-to-keep-private-his-upcoming-deposition-in-a-california-case/?smid=tw-nytimesarts&smtyp=cur

Public comments on Bill Cosby's alleged sexual assaults or "philandering ."

ATLANTIC Magazine commenters (link to article will be printed at end)
spudwhisperer wrote:

Cosby, once one of America’s most beloved actors and comedians, of sexual misbehavior...".

I notice that the MSM is for some reason now trying to mitigate Cosby's crimes and muddy the waters.

The guy had a modus operandi, according to victims' stories. He invited them to his hotel room or home, gave them a drink laced with some kind of powerful knockout drug, he raped them while unconscious, and when they woke up he was getting them dressed and out the door.

On ABC news yesterday, alternative MSM narrative emerging is that they were trying to paint was that Cosby was having "affairs and doing drugs" and somehow this was detrimental to his wholesome TV image.

They absolutely do not want people to focus on the actual facts, but rather on a much milder narrative.

OrchidLady replied :

They were in at least one case an "extra marital" affair. News agencies have to be cautious as to their wording because he's never been charged with a crime or admitted to one, nor has he lost in civil court. I think they're all trying to step lightly and paint it for what it appears to be, without coming out and calling him a serial rapist "allegedly."  This is from today:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/cosby-paid-women-sex-hide-payments-wife-32544440

Spudwhisperer replied:

Exactly- thank you. "Womanizing".

That's how ABC News is portraying slipping a knock-out drug into somebody's drink and raping them while they are unconscious and possibly in need of medical assistance.

ATLANTIC article "The Ugly Behavior of Bill Cosby" link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/07/the-ugly-words-of-bill-cosby/398939/p

From entertainment site THE WRAP: latest commenter dialogue on Bill Cosby's misdeeds.

Selected comments following THE WRAP's article
on the latest accusation of Bill Cosby as rapist (this time from Cindra Ladd, wife of former Ladd Company studio head Alan Ladd Jr.) http://www.thewrap.com/bill-cosby-accused-of-drugging-raping-former-hollywood-executive-cindra-ladd/:
I'm sorry but note to these ladies your 15 minutes is up. I do feel sorry for whatever might have happened, but the career of Bill Cosby is officially over and there is no need for more women to come and tell their stories 30 years after the event. Let's move onto something else please.
I actually disagree. The more people like this, who come forward protect and support the other allegations. Clearly, Cindra Ladd doesn't need money or fame or attention. She's coming forward to support the other women and it needs to happen.
He is still performing. People still greet him as if he has something to offer the world
It's truly disgusting. His whole persona was built to drug and rape women.
That's true. In spite of a celebrity's proven loathsomeness there's always a lingering rabble of diehard fans: brutal cynics, cold-blooded skeptics, and clueless idiots. But what kind of fan base is that?

Bill Cosby and Sony don't want certain things written about them.

Again not linking to certain things already racing across the Information Superhighway, but I noticed two things earlier today:
1. Bill Cosby is still in rigid denial over his current reputation resembling a mansion of twigs with a tornado bearing down on it.  Well, maybe he's acknowledging the recent allegations of supermodel Beverly Johnson by what-seems-to-be subtly ordering African-American publications to avoid writing negative profiles of Bill Cosby.
2. Sony now wants the genie of public embarrassment returned to its bottle by ordering no more press coverage of e-mail leaks.
[Pausing a moment to again say that the leaking is obviously not North Korean--if North Korea had been sufficiently infuriated by THE INTERVIEW, it would probably have created a truly destructive cyberattack rather than something akin to Anonymous-or a disgruntled employee.]
On one level, I can empathize with people working there not wanting private/personal information such as home addresses and phone numbers to be revealed.
However, regarding the information that has been regarded InstantNews-worthy, it may be worth pausing to wonder how/why the Columbia/Tri-Star/Screen Gems content-producing outpost of the Sony empire employs Jamie Foxx (who won an Academy Award for playing Ray Charles in RAY) and only utilizes him as supporting player in the upcoming, modernized ANNIE--plus, earlier this year, a superhero antagonist in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2.
And, thanks to the e-mail leak: one gets a little insight into what movies multinational corporations choose to make, why they insist on making "tentpoles" and avoiding medium-budget projects that aren't comedies--and what kind of limitations are assigned by studio executives to non-Caucasian actors.

New poem: THE COSBY POEM

ONE
after the topsoil of alleged drugs,
alleged rape of unconscious victims,
and the awakenings and discoveries,
we now dig into the next level
of celebrity sediment:
talent and modeling agencies
supplying bodies to use-and-discard,
plus employees to run celebrity errands--
hold the great man's cigar
block the dressing room door
when "interviews" take place
find housing for mistresses
keep the great man's name
off the checks and money orders
excitement wears off
and the weariness of doing grubby chores
then the fear of being fired
by the no-longer-great man who once gave you
a personally signed photo
TWO
I HATE TO ASK THIS, BUT I HAVE TO!
SAY IT AIN'T SO, BILL!
repeated by nervous interviewers
on separate occasions
as Bill scowls and thunders:
SCUTTLE THIS, CUT THAT!
YOU SHOULD KNOW YOU'RE
NOT PRACTICING JOURNALISM!
DON'T MAKE ME CALL MY ATTORNEYS!
THREE
enjoyed the first BILL COSBY SHOW
with Bill as easygoing coach Chet Kincaid
as well as the first two or three years
of THE COSBY SHOW
before it grew smug and self-satisfied
liked to go to the Playboy Jazz Festival
when Cosby was the MC
and admired what he did for jazz
at the festival and on TV as well
fast-forward a few years
to when Ennis Cosby was murdered
and I gave money to the HELLO FRIEND charity
formed in his memory
cut to a few years later,
when Bill Cosby had his
maybe-or-maybe-not daughter
(by a woman who wasn't his wife Camille)
jailed for extortion
that was cold, I thought
even colder when Plutocrat Bill
started telling poor and middle-class people
IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT
AND YOUR KIDS ARE
KNUCKLEHEADS TOO!
way too frigid for me--
and for Hannibal Buress too
FOUR
someday, I'll be tempted to watch Bill Cosby
in something he acted in three to four decades ago
or revisit an old stand-up routine on YouTube
and I'll try to compartmentalize
he could be a fine actor and funny storyteller
when he wasn't preoccupied
with grinding people's lives
into topsoil

Bill Cosby, public and private.

Excerpted from a late-90s interview with Jamie Foxx (conducted by Neil Gladstone) for PHILADELPHIA CITYPAPER:

Have you spoken with Bill Cosby since he criticized Booty Call?

Yeah, I did. He was like [does Cosby voice]: "I know what they're tryin' ta get ya ta do, 'cause they had me do some things that wasn't so cool." He had good things to say and I understood where he was coming from. But it did get under my skin a bit when he went toNewsweek before telling me. He didn't have to single out Booty Call; there were a million movies that came out [that were just as bad], but he decided to pick on that one because it was a little sucessful. My point to him was, "Hey, we're comedians, this is what we do." I saw Mother, Jugs & Speed. I saw Leonard Part 6 where they had him riding an ostrich. Cosby had good points: one should strive to do better things. At the same time you've got to take what you can get to get to where you want to go.

Link to entire article: www.citypaper.net/articles/122597/20q.shtml

NEW YORK magazine timeline of Cosby's abuse charges:

http://www.vulture.com/2014/09/timeline-of-the-abuse-charges-against-cosby.html

Daily Mail Online article referring to Bill Cosby's recent sort-of-authorized biography:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2731076/Bill-Cosby-mistress-dumped-took-dinner-furious-mom-The-bizarre-moment-Americas-beloved-TV-dad-ditched-girlfriend-cheating-wife.html

Another accuser comes forward: http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2014/11/another-cosby-victim-comes/

11/19/14: Cosby's Robert Townsend-directed NETFLIX BILL COSBY 77 is pulled and the NBC sitcom development deal canceled according to Bill Carter of THE NEW YORK TIMES:

http://nyti.ms/1te80ss

CNN talks to Cosby's sort-of-authorized biographer as to why he wouldn't write about the rape allegations (excerpt below and full article at http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/14/showbiz/tv/bill-cosby-rape-allegations/: plus on-air interview with THE HUFINGTON POST: http://www.cambio.com/videos/cambio-on-aol/why-bill-cosbys-history-of-sexual-abuse-allegations-isnt-in-hi--518429565/)

As Mark Whitaker's recent Cosby biography makes clear, the man has his demons. He had affairs while on the road and there have been bumps in his long marriage to his wife, Camille.

But Whitaker, a former CNN managing editor, told CNN that he didn't feel comfortable airing the rape allegations.

"Basically, I knew that I was going to have to be very careful in what I said about his private life. I felt that way as a journalist and also for legal reasons," he said in an interview about the biography.

"In the case of these other allegations, basically because there were no definitive court findings, no independent witnesses, it didn't meet my standard for what I was going to put in the book."

"I also was very aware that if I just did a she said-he said, and I printed allegations and denials without my own independent reporting, first of all it's not really in the spirit in the book, but also every person who then reviewed or reported on the book would be free to repeat those unconfirmed allegations just because they were in my book. And I just didn't feel comfortable being responsible for that."

Still, the rape allegations are always just a mouse click away.

Bill Cosby as America's Nanny--then and now.

Summary of Bill Cosby's recent appearance on THE DAILY SHOW:
http://t.entertainment.msn.com/bill-cosby-to-jon-stewart-cursing-makes-me-cry

And, for some historical context, here's Eddie Murphy talking about being lectured by Bill Cosby (from EDDIE MURPHY RAW with NSFW content):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0aKNwsrtXw