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Details on "Club Soda Kenny"
Now there’s a NYT article on Sgt. Feder, aka “Club Soda Kenny,” the former Diceman sidekick and frequent Opie & Anthony guest who is suspended without pay from his gig as an internal affairs investigator for the West Orange (NJ) PD.
But late last month, when a CD of Sergeant Feder’s act was mailed to police officials and members of the City Council, the laughter stopped. They suspended him last week and filed departmental charges that could cost him his $88,000-a-year job and his pension.
When we first commented on the case, we opined that the suspension was justified, imagining the sticky situation Feder might find himself in with, say, a speeding motorist. However, we now know that Feder has little or no contact with the public (in the traditional cop sense). But, we still aren’t certain that his standup isn’t at odds with the department’s code of conduct.
Feder’s attorney unwittingly made a case for his client’s suspension:
He said he suspected that the CD was sent to police officials as an act of retaliation by a rogue police officer Sergeant Feder had investigated. “It’s hard to imagine who else might do such a thing,” he said.
Oops! Let’s see… I’m a cop who investigates other cops… there’s an outside chance (just the teeniest, tiniest chance) I might get suspended if somebody finds out I’m telling jokes about screwing my dog… hmmm… I don’t suppose I’ve compromised myself in any way. Not at all. Whew! That was close! (Into intercom) Miss Jones, send in the next (allegedly) dirty cop!
Others are casting this as a free speech issue. The internet is crackling with all manner of foaming, 1st Amendment rhetoric, much of it over the top; some of it from his attorney– “This is a man who risks his life every day to protect the public and uphold the Constitution,” says his lawyer, obviously counting on the reader’s ignorance as to Feder’s job description. (We’ve watched enough NYPD Blue‘s to know that the closest the guys in “IAB” come to risking their lives is via their sedentary lifestyle combined with a high-fat diet.)
Like we said earlier, we haven’t heard the last of this story. (Prediction: Feder’s attorney will wangle some sort of deal where Feder gets the back pay that he lost during the suspension; Feder apologizes for disgracing the West Orange PD; Feder will promise to keep the child molestation and raping-a-bride-at-knifepoint gags to a minimum over the next few months while Feder’s attorney and the department hammer out an early buyout, with full pension. Everybody goes home happy– West Orange is spared the embarassment, Feder gets his pension, and, most importantly, Feder is free to pursue standup comedy full time! (After you get your puss in the NYT, it should be no problem to secure representation for personal appearances. If Hank the Angry Dwarf could make some coin, it shouldn’t be any problem for Club Soda Kenny to make a decent buck cutting ribbons, appearing on O & A and occasionally opening for Jim Norton.) Stay tuned: There’s a departmental hearing on Feb. 23!
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I’m no fan of Clay or his sidekick, but if all he did was tell some dirty jokes . . . well, I know people who yell FIRE in crowded theaters want to claim free speech as their justification, but in this case, I do think there is a freedom of sppech issue. Now if Feder lied on his resume by concealing his former life, that in itself might be a firting offense.
We’re of the opinion that this is not a free speech issue. We’re also well aware that Sgt. Feder is caught in a political crossfire. But this is politics. Folks in politics are entitled to say whatever they want. Sgt. Feder could easily continue to do his set… but he would do so knowing that he probably would lose his day job. So… to recap: He can continue to “express himself,” but he would have to choose between that and his $88,000/year position with the WOPD. Fair? Perhaps, perhaps not. Politics? Most definitely. Has he been deprived of his 1st Amendment right to speak? Not at all. However, in his case, he pays a price– he loses his job. Would he like to keep both? We can assume so. Is he entitled to do so? We shall see.Folks in all walks of life are “deprived” of their “right to speak” (or other of their activities are proscribed) because of their circumstances at work, or in their chosen field or via confidentiality agreements. Such arrangements are mutually agreed to… tacitly, or contained in complex, signed contracts. We assume that Sgt. Feder knew of the moral turpitude clause. And we don’t doubt for a minute that his superiors knew of the content of his act but refused to enforce the clause. It was when the mayor and others (and, lets face it, the media) got into the act that “poltics” became a factor. Never underestimate politics as a motivator. The mayor makes a choice; the Chief makes a choice; Feder makes a choice. To the casual observer, all are “forced” to make their choices. In reality, they all have the right to commit political suicide– to do exactly the opposite. However, all will probably opt to save their skins. Such is politics.Fear not– Sgt. Feder has an attorney. Like we said, the attorney will salvage 75 per cent of what his client had before the skit hit the fan.
“If the CD sent to the police were from a show in NYC (and the news articles imply that it was) then whoever recorded the show was likely breaking the law, as NYC has a law against recording a show performance without permission.”I was given permission to record it through the club’s soundboard as it was my show in which he was performing on. I posted the clip on Cringe Humor after Kenny gave me permission to do so. Someone donwloaded it, sent it to the Chief, and this is where we are at. It was even played on Opie & Anthony a week or 2 after. We went through the correct motions.Do your homework, kids-Patrick
I’m surprised that SheckyMag is on the other side of this debate. A guy does a character on stage that has nothing to do with who he is or what he does in his daytime life–he’s not moonlighting because he doesn’t get paid; he’s not besmirching the reputation of where he works or what he does because it is never mentioned or even alluded to; and he’s performing at specialty events where the type of material that he was doing is not only accepted but expected.And he loses his job over it? And you’re ok with that?Again, I’m surprised that you’re not more sympathetic to the comic in question. Frankly, I’ve always been of the “I may not agree with what you say but I will always defend your right to say it” upbringing…especially when it comes to comics performing on stage. peter greyy–seattlePS–Note that I’m not saying that you shouldn’t say what you believe–I’m just surprised that you’re taking the anti-comedian side on this particular issue…
First of all, let’s get the “he’s not moonlighting because he doesn’t get paid” issue off the table. It doesn’t really matter if he’s paid or not, because it doesn’t really matter if he’s moonlighting. The moonlighting thing is a side issue, if it’s an issue at all. As to whether Feder is “besmirching the reputation of where he works” or not, it’s the call of the Department and the call of the City Council. And they have an issue with Feder’s off-hours activities. It’s not uncommon for moral turpitude clauses to encompass an employee’s activities 24/7. And both parties were well aware of the deal going in, so let’s not be shocked when the employer decides to enforce it. (All this wasn’t an issue when Feder was flying under the radar, so to speak, but he is now inextricably linked to the W.O.P.D. And, regardless of how that link was made, it is made. W.O.P.D. and the township can’t ignore it.)The hearing isn’t for another week. But, if he is canned, can we say Feder “loses his job” over it?” Yes and no. Like we explained in an earlier comment: He could probably keep his job– he’d just hafta ditch the comedy. Is this infringing on his freedom of speech? No. He could probably continue the comedy– he’d just hafta kiss the cop job goodbye. The choice (if it is on the table) is clear– and it’s his. With regard to his freedom of speech, it’s still intact, it’s merely compromised somewhat by his chosen profession. We don’t have such problems– we’re full-time comics. Others aren’t so fortunate. On rare occasions, however, a person’s activities are proscribed by his job description or his work situation or his home life. If Feder were a toll taker or a dishwasher repairman or a freelance translater of ancient scripts, there’d be no conflict. As Sgt. Feder is an officer of the law, however, it is the position of his P.D. superiors that he represents an entire force, an entire community, even a tradition. Knock off the standup, or don’t report to work, is the deal he’s been offered (or, very probably, a compromise being tendered by his representatives). A rabbi might be given the same ultimatum by his congregation, or a kindergarten teacher by his school. Or an attorney by his law firm. All would be within their rights to issue such an ultimatum. The rabbi, the minister, the lawyer would all be free to pursue the spotlight, to exercise his freedom of expression, just not with the blessing of his former employer.You’re “suprised that we’re not more sympathetic to the comic?” Well, we have been called a lot of things, but predictable isn’t one of them. If we automatically sided with the comic on every issue, it wouldn’t say much for our analytical skills.And, again, we’re not taking the “anti-comedian side” in this issue. As we explained more than once– Feder can do comedy all he wants. Full time, even. But now he may be forced to pay the bills without the help of a paycheck from West Orange. So, he either has to ramp up the comedy a bit– or he has to find a daytime gig where the employer doesn’t care what he does once he clocks out.
To me, Kenny is a first-rate comedian who is using a traditional method and manner of expression that goes back sixty years, to his fellow Jewish comedians, Joe Ancis and Lenny Bruce in the 50’s and 60’s, through Andrew Dice Clay and Howard Stern today. When he is onstage, he is not a police officer, he is an artist, and deserves to be respected as such. Sexually or racially provocative humor (one TV report on Kenny two days ago ran a clip of him saying in his act “…the blacks get the best jobs…” so now race has been brought into this) is never off-limits in a comedy club, it is what most comedy clubs in America are all about. Kenny has been part of the comedy scene for almost twenty years, and has always treated fellow performers with courtesy and kindness, throughout his stint as Andrew Dice Clay’s cohort, and thereafter during his ascension into stand-up comedy and comic acting (see the DVD, “Meet the Creeps,” Vols. I & II). I hope the powers-that-be in the West Orange Police Department don’t forget that they have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and the First Amendment. Kenny should not be forced to choose between comedy and police work; what he says onstage is a threat to no one and breaks no laws. He is guilty of nothing more than being a funny Jew!
Because several people have emailed me to ask: Just to set the record straight, the editors of this site deleted my postings, upon my request, because I had made an incorrect assumption in my postings. I’d assumed that the person who made the recordings was the one who sent them to the W.O.P.D. when in fact the producer of the show did so, with permission, and posted them on the internet.