America the Beautiful

There’s this old fogey in me that I usually try to restrain. I’m no “get off my lawn” guy. I love kids, small and large and generally tolerate popular culture.

Today the restraints gave way.

This country is in big trouble, in ways the media covers ad nauseam every day. An incompetent sociopath issues endless, senseless, illegal orders. He tries to jail political opponents or anyone who ever made fun of him. He thinks the military is a set of action figures he can deploy whenever and wherever his impulses.suggest. His cabinet makes a clown car look dignified and distinguished. He and his smarmy family members are bit-coining and scamming their way to billions. Nary a day passes when he doesn’t commit an act that would be impeachable in any other era. And so it goes.

But my inner fogey wishes to rant about an insidious coarsening of society that accompanies the governmental dumpster fire and will persist long after the MAGA era self-implodes by way of incomprehensible stupidity.

Let us begin with Snoop Dogg.

I love the Winter Olympics and have watched everything from curling to skeleton. Snoopy has his mug in every venue, hobnobbing with the athletes and the other preening celebrities.

It’s not that I am dismayed that a “rapper” has branded himself into America’s sporting life. I thought Bad Bunny’s halftime show was a pretty good cultural rebuke of white nationalism, although the slack-jawed members of that demographic were busy watching Kid Rock lip sync about two beats behind the crappy music.

But Snoop is a different matter entirely. He should probably be in jail and here he is cavorting for NBC Sports and flashing his peacock bling on Peacock. He’s like the mascot for the U.S. team. Of all the dogs, they chose this Dogg. A Golden Retriever would have been nice.

My inner fogey does not object to a little weed. I take CBD for various creaks and smoked a joint once in a while long before my joints gave out. But Snoop Dogg has branded himself as the pothead-in-chief of a nation full of impressionable teens. From what I can tell, his “art” is the kind of rhymes and rhythms a stoned adolescent could whip up. His background is disgusting and should be disqualifying. I pasted part of his Wikipedia resume at the bottom of this post. He’s a career criminal who is wrapping himself in the flag. The muckety-mucks at NBC know he draws eyes, so his sordid past is not a dealbreaker.

Enough about the Dogg.

Trump, who’s idea of culture is bad country music and cheeseburgers, has announced plans for our 250th birthday. If we had to have a tyrant, at least we could have had one with more refined taste. Benito Mussolini used opera for nationalistic propaganda. Trump has Lee Greenwood on retainer.

For our birthday we will have an automobile race through our historic monuments Lots of beer and beer ads.

And then, on the White House lawn, a spectacle just below feeding humans to the lions will commence. Men, and probably a few scantily clad women, will try to beat each other to a pulp in the distinctly American Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The late Senator John McCain called it “human cockfighting.”

It seems that Americans have an insatiable appetite for watching people beat the crap out of each other. This commercialized savagery has desensitized a broad swath of the country that sees it as entertainment. The normalization of this brutality seeps into the milieu in which our children are steeped.

Over 70 million subscribers can watch all the fights on Paramount+. Families with small children can watch this brutality with their Doritos and Jellycats.

And then, the granddaddy of the “are you kidding me??” phenomena.

Gambling.

Scandals in pro sports are emerging left and right, but that will not inhibit the gamblers. In 38 states you can bet on the Winter Olympics. I’m not sure how they stop the other 12.

I wonder how many folks lost their sequined shirts by betting on figure skater IIia Malinin, the American shoe-in for gold, who went from Quad God to OH MY GOD!!!!! in four agonizing minutes.

If millionaire pro athletes get caught manipulating games, just imagine the potential for Olympic manipulation. You can find the odds for nearly every event at FanDuel.

A pussy-grabbing, vulgar liar at the helm. Snoop Dogg as American brand ambassador. Human cock-fighting and race cars for our birthday party. And you can bet on everything!

America the Beautiful!

Snoop’s qualifications to represent the United States at the Olympics:

1989–1990: Felony possession of drugs and three-year prison sentence

Shortly after graduating from high school in 1989, Snoop Dogg was arrested for possession of cocaine and for the following three years was frequently in and out of prison.[23] In 1990, he was convicted of felony possession of drugs and possession for sale.[299]

1993–1997: Traffic violation, gun possession and guilty plea

In July 1993, Snoop Dogg was stopped for a traffic violation, and a firearm was found by police during a search of his car. In February 1997, he pled guilty to possession of a handgun and was ordered to record three public service announcements, perform 800 hours of community service, pay a $1,000 fine and serve three years’ probation.[300][301][302]

1993–1996: Murder trial and acquittal

While recording Doggystyle in August 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Philip Woldermariam, a member of a rival gang, who was actually killed by Snoop Dogg’s bodyguard, McKinley Lee, aka Malik.[28] Snoop Dogg had been temporarily living in an apartment complex in the Palms neighborhood in the West Los Angeles region, at the intersection of Vinton Avenue and Woodbine Street—the location of the shooting.

Both men were charged with murder, as Snoop Dogg was purportedly driving the vehicle from which the gun was fired. Johnnie Cochran defended them.[303] Both Snoop Dogg and his bodyguard were acquitted on February 20, 1996.[304] In February 2024, the case was sealed.[29]

1998–2010: Misdemeanor marijuana charges

Snoop Dogg has also been arrested and fined three times for misdemeanor possession of marijuana: in Los Angeles in 1998;[305] Cleveland, Ohio in 2001;[306] and Sierra Blanca, Texas, in 2010.[307]

2006–2007: Airport arrests and convictions

On April 26, 2006, Snoop Dogg and members of his entourage were arrested after being turned away from British Airways’ first class lounge at Heathrow Airport in London. Snoop Dogg and his party were denied entry to the lounge due to some members flying in economy class. After being escorted outside, the group got in a fight with the police and vandalized a duty-free shop.[308] Seven police officers were injured during the incident. After a night in jail, Snoop Dogg and the other men were released on bail the next day but he was unable to perform a scheduled concert in Johannesburg.[309]

In September 2006, Snoop Dogg was detained at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, by airport security after airport screeners found a collapsible police baton in his carry-on bag. Donald Etra, Snoop Dogg’s lawyer, told deputies the baton was a prop for a musical sketch. Snoop Dogg was sentenced to three years’ probation and 160 hours of community service for the incident, starting in September 2007.[310]

He was arrested again in October 2006 at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank after being stopped for a traffic infraction; he was arrested for possession of a firearm and for suspicion of transporting an unspecified amount of marijuana, according to a police statement.[311]

The following month, after taping an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he was arrested again for possession of marijuana, cocaine and a firearm. Two members of his entourage, according to the Burbank police statement, were admitted members of the Rollin’ 20s Crips gang and were arrested on separate charges.[312]

In April 2007, he was given a three-year suspended sentence, five years’ probation and 800 hours of community service after pleading no contest to two felony charges of drug and gun possession by a convicted felon. He was also prohibited from hiring anyone with a criminal record or gang affiliation as a security guard, talent manager or driver.[299]

2015: Sweden arrest for illegal drug possession

Snoop Dogg, after performing for a concert in Uppsala, Sweden, on July 25, 2015, was pulled over and detained by Swedish police for allegedly using illegal drugs, violating a Swedish law enacted in 1988 which criminalized the recreational use of such substances – therefore making even being under the influence of any illegal/controlled substance a crime itself without possession. During the detention he was taken to the police station to perform a drug test and was released shortly afterwards. The rapid test was positive for traces of narcotics and he was potentially subject to fines depending on the results of more detailed analysis.[313][314] Although final results “strongly” indicated drug use the charges were ultimately dropped because it could not be proven that he was in Sweden when he consumed the substances.[315] The rapper uploaded several videos on the social networking site Instagram criticizing the police for alleged racial profiling; police spokesman Daniel Nilsson responded to the accusations, saying: “we don’t work like that in Sweden”. He declared in the videos, “Niggas got me in the back of police car right now in Sweden, cuz”, and “Pulled a nigga over for nothing, taking us to the station where I’ve got to go pee in a cup for nothin’. I ain’t done nothin’. All I did was came to the country and did a concert and now I’ve got to go to the police station. For nothin’!”. He announced to his Swedish fanbase that he would never again go on tour in the country because of the incident.[316][317][318]

Civil2005: Alleged assault of a fan and lawsuit

Snoop Dogg, Compton rapper Jayceon “the Game” Taylor and group Tha Dogg Pound, were sued for assaulting a fan on stage at a May 2005 concert at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington. The accuser, Richard Monroe Jr., claimed he was beaten by the artists’ entourage while mounting the stage. He alleged that he reacted to an “open invite” to come on stage. Before he could, Snoop Dogg’s bodyguards grabbed him and beat him into unconsciousness.[319] He claimed attack by crew members; Snoop Dogg and Taylor were included in the suit for not intervening, but both parties denied ever having any involvement.[320][321][322] The lawsuit focused on a pecuniary claim of $22 million in punitive and compensatory damages, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[323] The concerned parties appeared in court in April 2009; Snoop Dogg was cleared of the lawsuit in May. However, Snoop’s label Doggy Style Records was found liable.[324]

Death Row bankruptcy case and compensation loss

In May 2016, through the Death Row Records bankruptcy case, Snoop Dogg lost $2 million.[325]

Sexual assault lawsuits

In January 2005, Snoop Dogg was sued by a makeup artist who claimed that Snoop Dogg and several others drugged and raped her backstage at a Jimmy Kimmel Live! taping in 2003.[326] Snoop Dogg had filed an extortion lawsuit against the woman a month before she brought her case. In August 2005 the two parties settled, with the accuser stating “the matter has been resolved amicably”, and Snoop Dogg’s representative stating no money was exchanged.

In February 2022, a woman sued Snoop Dogg for $10 million, alleging that he sexually assaulted her in May 2013 following a concert in Anaheim, California.[327][328][329] Only a few months after its filing, the suit was withdrawn, then reintroduced in July.[330] In May 2023, court documents revealed that the case had been dismissed.[331]

Regional or international banishments

2006–2010: United Kingdom

On May 15, 2006, after his arrest on vandalism charges in London, the region’s Home Office decided that Snoop Dogg would be denied entry to the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future and his British visa was denied the following year.[332][333][334] As of March 2010, however, Snoop Dogg was allowed back into the UK.[335] The entire group was banned from British Airways “for the foreseeable future”.[336] According to Snoop Dogg, Queen Elizabeth II overturned the ban, saying: “This man has done nothing in our country. He can come.”[337][338][339]

2007–2008: Australia

In April 2007, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship banned Snoop Dogg from entering the country on character grounds, citing his prior criminal convictions.[340] He had been scheduled to appear at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards on April 29, 2007.[341] The Australian DIAC lifted the ban in September 2008 and had granted him a visa to tour Australia. The DIAC said: “In making this decision, the department weighed his criminal convictions against his previous behaviour while in Australia, recent conduct – including charity work – and any likely risk to the Australian community … We took into account all relevant factors and, on balance, the department decided to grant the visa”.[342] He later visited for the 2014 Big Day Out festival, the 2023 “I Wanna Thank Me Tour” and is expected to provide entertainment for the 2025 AFL Grand Final.[343][344]

2012–2014: Norway

Snoop Dogg was banned from entering Norway for two years in July 2012 after entering the country the month before in possession of 8 grams (0.3 oz) of marijuana and an undeclared 227,000 kr in cash, or about US$29,400 in 2022 terms.[345][346][347]

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