FNC's MediaBuzz

As you may already know from previous rants and raves over the years, I have found television news reporting to be sorely lacking in scope and presentation at times, and I am evidently not the only one.  For there are actually news programs on the state of news reporting.

The first one of these shows I discovered was [Reliable Sources] on CNN. It aired at 10:00 a.m. Central on Sundays, and was hosted by the dapper feller over there on the left, [Howard Kurtz].

I do not remember just exactly how long, but several weeks after I started watching Reliable Sources, the amiable Mr. Kurtz left for a new show on the FOX News Channel (FNC).  Well, I was not about to watch any show on FNC.  So, I did not pay any attention to what his new show was going to be called.  That is, of course, if CNN even allowed it to be given at the time.

[Brian Stelter] then took over as host of Reliable Sources, and I was soon finding it to be sorely lacking.  In all fairness, the show’s downhill slide may have nothing to do with what Stelter has contributed.  In fact, it may have been on account of the changes the powers that be at CNN wanted to make to Reliable Sources that precipitated Kurtz’s move to his new show.

Such a move serves as a good example of a topic for discussion on [MediaBuzz], and the show seems to go out of its way to present a fair and balanced approach—even when discussing something about news coverage and commentary by FNC.  Hey, shots are even taken at [Bill O’Reilly] when he has stuck his foot in his mouth again!

If you don’t believe it, tune in to MediaBuzz (or record it to watch later) at 10 a.m. Central on Sundays to see for yourself.  Yeah, it is in the same time-slot as Reliable Sources.  Curious—huh?

Alas, I am ashamed to admit that I was suckered by the MSNBC propaganda against FNC.  So, when MSNBC became too obviously liberally-biased for my taste, we switched to CNN.  The final straw for CNN with me was hearing [Wolf Blitzer] ask retired [Lt. General Honoré], who truly distinguished himself by quickly restoring order and having his troops be of great help to all in need after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans a few years back, if the National Guard troops deployed to guard against vandalism in Ferguson, Missouri would be armed.  When the general answered that they would have side-arms/pistols, the celebrated Mr. Blitzer asked him if they would have ammunition.  Now, I don’t know about you, but to me, being armed means having a weapon that can actually be used as it is designed to!

We still watch NBC’s Nightly News because CBS’ Evening News is almost as bad as MSNBC, and the whole ABC News Division has generally become cartoonish, which is understandable since ABC is now owned by Disney.

Yeah, my wife and I now tune to FNC when we want to find out what may be going on at other hours of the day or night.  However, be assured that we avoid Bill O’Reilly and [Geraldo Rivera] like they may have a very nasty strain of an electronically-transmitted disease.

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Come Monday...Great Escapes

“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of (or commentary about) websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time.  Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.”  This is subject to change, however.  In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while.  For rants promote change, and change can be good—right?  Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).

If you are regular, you already know that my very poor physical health forces me to live a fairly miserable life.  There are, however, four months out of every year that affords me some very welcome relief.  ‘Tis the season for this.  For the time for real football to be played is upon us again.

Oh, but my joy has been seriously threatened by the resurrection of political-correctness.  In all fairness, it is arguable that the PC virus has been just lying dormant for the past few years.  For with with the liberal democrats holding the reins of political power, bleeding hearts are loathed to go around staining their reputations.

Ah, but the barbarians of the National Football League and their fans are more than fair game.  First came the outrage over concussions, next was the Washington Redskins refusing to change their name, and now hysteria over domestic abuse allegations off of the field leaves me with no escape from reality to be found during the broadcast of a football game.

Yeah, “they” finally got [Ray Rice] after the [video] of what happened in the elevator finally came out, and this has me feeling abusive.  For the fact of him hitting his then fiancé hard enough to render her unconscious was never in question due to his own admission, but “they” refuse to see a difference between someone truly sorry about what he did and someone merely sorry about getting caught afterward.

To connect the dots, there is no need to further punish someone truly sorry about what they did because the shame of their actions is punishment enough for an honorable person while someone who does not really believe they did anything wrong needs to have it proven otherwise by all means necessary.  Be assured that [Ray Rice] is of the former—certainly not the later, category.

It is a somewhat different story with [Adrian Peterson], and until I can find the strength to hear more about his situation, I will withhold my right to rant.  Well, not completely.  For to all who believe that no child should ever feel the sting of a switch, I can only point to the most recent crop of kids in our country, and if it can be proven to me that more than 30% have any true respect for/recognition of authority, I will shut up.

No, this is not to say that all children should be handled in the same way.  For a disappointed look toward some can accomplish more good than a serious whoopin’ ever could, but a fairly high percentage of children desperately need to feel a little pain now in the hope of avoiding incarceration later.

Please understand that this is coming from someone who received three whoopings a day during second grade in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Yeah, one could say that I can be rather slow to get with the program at times.  For I would get one whoppin’ from a teacher at school, one from my mom when I got home and then another from my dad after he came home from work.  This pattern repeated itself every school day for almost the entire second semester, but I suffered no permanent scars.

Speaking of such, my dad once told me of his dad whipping him with an electrical cord until blood was running down his legs.  I recoiled in horror at the mere thought of this, and I swore (to myself) that I would run away if he ever did that to me.  Thankfully, my dad never did, and I think any parent who did should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  On the other hand, what punishment is just for a parent, who raises their child without any respect for/recognition of authority?

Oh, and there is a big difference between truly having respect for/recognition of authority and just seeking to go along until they can figure out how to get over.

So, with watching football no longer being a safe haven for me for at least the time being, another means of escaping the realities of my daily existence for short periods of time needed to be found, and hooking up a computer to our living room television is paying some dividends.  For there are literally thousands of documentaries and other educational programs available to be watched for free online, and the [Documentary Addict] site serves as a great database when you are not quite sure of what to look for.

Be assured that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the documentary on the Byzantine Empire embedded below on the much bigger screen of our living room television.  I sure hope our Heavenly Father does not have this world last long enough to allow for a documentary like that to be made about American political-correctness  someday.

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[Arlynda Lea]

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Come Monday...Officially Winter

“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of (or commentary about) websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time.  Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.”  This is subject to change, however.  In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while.  For rants promote change, and change can be good—right?  Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).

I have matured enough to where I can grin whenever hearing some bandy-legged old coot declare in no uncertain tones that the kids these days have no idea just how good they have it in comparison to the days when they had to walk uphill five miles in both directions to get to and from school.  Hey, I have even participated in that sort of thing a little bit back when I would tell rookie truck-drivers that I would have to whittle my own replacement spokes when a wheel would break as I was first starting out on the open road.

Ah, but what about the actual memories I have of it not being considered officially summer until the outside temperature reached at least 100 degrees (Fahrenheit), and the official start of winter would be below zero?  Some would argue the necessity for taking snow and tornadoes into account, but I would not.

The reason why I ask is because winter should officially make an entrance for the first time in a while around the cracking of the dawn.  It is officially 3 above at this particular moment, and our excitable weather people are calling for the temperature to get down to 6 below zero in 5-6 hours.

I can honestly say that I do not remember the last time we recorded a below zero temperature around here, but I am fairly sure that -6 is nothing to get as excited about as our local weather people are acting,  For I can remember it reaching well below zero on a fairly regular basis before 1985, which is when I moved to Amarillo, Texas and started collecting a different set of memories.

By the way, I cannot remember the last time it reached 100 during the summer around here, either.  It has come close a few times, but no cigar.  So, if you are looking for a fairly mild climate, and don’t mind an occasional tornado and/or ice storm, the southwestern part of Missouri just might be what you have been looking for.

Of course, this is the Ozarks.  So, if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes and it will change.

I wish I would have kept track of how many times I have heard that about the weather frequently changing in other areas over the years.  If I remember right, I heard someone say something about it around five minutes after I took my first step down Amarillo Boulevard.

Anyway, -6 is nothing to get hysterical about if one is prepared.  Now, -40 is something to be concerned with, as I found out after being out in it fixing fence for around 8 hours without nearly enough clothing on many a moon ago.  For it took another 8 hours sitting real close to a roaring wood stove before the feeling returned to my legs.

Okay, maybe our excitable weather people might have a point.  For I am not the only blithering idiot our Heavenly Father has created.

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[The Tribulation Times Herald-Exhorter]

Trib Updates

This is a weekly series that will include a brief summary of the latest articles that have been published on The Tribulation Times Herald-Exhorter.  Hopefully, this will encourage you to go check out some truly outstanding articles that have been published by a number of truly outstanding authors.  Moreover, I hope this will also encourage you to want to become a contributing member/author, as well.  The “Hear Ye!  Hear Ye!” site explanation near the top of the side-bar should answer many of your questions.  Yes, this series also included an “SOS! (Spam On Saturdays)”  segment before, but it just wasn’t working for me.  Therefore, that will be replaced by a republishing of one of the Trib articles.

[Camping Out] has a video and the lyrics for Steve Camp’s Don’t Tell Them Jesus Loves Them.

[The Poor Will Always Be With Us] is a continuation of what was started with The Other Lazarus.

[Camping Out Some More] has a video and the lyrics for Steve Camp’s Do You Feel Their Pain.

[ESPN Additions] goes to show that puns do not always properly punctuate.

[WhiteHeart Wednesday] has a video and the lyrics for Hotline.

[How Do You Do?] has a video and the lyrics for Johnny Cash’s A Boy Named Sue.

[Classic Spousal Emasculation?]

Could it be that Joanna’s husband, Mark, is actually a blithering idiot?  After all, why else would an experienced television news reporter feel compelled to tell him to not scare people by talking too loudly about those explosions being a bomb, and then repeat what she had told him during her televised report, when she should realize that the way a story is presented goes a long way toward how it is received by the viewing audience?

In all fairness, it could be argued that she was just giving an honest report about what happened while her mind was still numb from pounding the pavement for 26.2 miles, but she neglected to make that clear—did she not?  Of course, it may very well be that he was going against the training he had received as a police officer, as well as in the military, by shouting out that what was heard was a bomb, which would have been a rather idiotic thing to do, considering the situation at hand.

In any event, she succeeded in emasculating him before a fairly large viewing audience.  Whether or not he deserved it (naturally-speaking, of course) remains to be seen.

P.S.

It was pointed out to me that I neglected to address intent.  Therefore, please accept my sincere apologies, and let it be widely known and well understood that I hope the lovely and talented Ms. Small did not intend to humiliate her husband.

I also neglected to mention that it most certainly works both ways.  A good example of a husband humiliating his wife in a public setting would be him volunteering to announce upon their arrival at a community potluck dinner that she did not have much time to spend in the kitchen because of the kids being sick, which would be (in effect) to assume that the dish she prepared would not be received very well.

Please Also Visit:

[FishHawk Droppings]

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[The Tribulation Times Herald-Exhorter]

Trib Updates

This is a weekly series that will include a brief summary of the latest articles that have been published on The Tribulation Times Herald-Exhorter.  Hopefully, this will encourage you to go check out some truly outstanding articles that have been published by a number of truly outstanding authors.  Moreover, I hope this will also encourage you to want to become a contributing member/author, as well.  The “Hear Ye!  Hear Ye!” site explanation near the top of the side-bar should answer many of your questions.  Yes, this series also included an “SOS! (Spam On Saturdays)”  segment before, but it just wasn’t working for me.  Therefore, that will be replaced by a republishing of one of the Trib articles.

[Woe Be It Unto The Haughty] has a video and the lyrics for Everlast’s What It’s Like.

[ESPN Additions] shows that Arnold Palmer is still awesome.

[WhiteHeart Wednesday] contains a video and the lyrics for Hold On.

[Do You?] has a video and the lyrics for Casting Crown’s Does Anybody Hear Her.

[HLN: Head Line Nitwits]

First of all, I would like to make it as clear as possible that none of this is meant to reflect badly upon [Robin Meade].  For I have watched her with great intensity on her [Morning Express] news show, and I cannot imagine how anyone (from among us, of course) could look any better in front of a camera.

Listening to her is another matter entirely, however.  Although, I am perfectly willing to accept that routinely delivering a big headline and then cutting to a commercial break is not her fault.

A prime example of what I am talking about happened a few days ago when the lovely and talented Ms. Meade leaned in toward the camera and said something about [CBS’ The Amazing Race] starting off their last aired episode with an [apology].  I am sorry.  I do not remember just exactly what she said, but what I do remember is what appeared on the television screen approximately a half-second later was several fairly attractive ladies twirling umbrellas.  Thirty seconds or so afterward, it was made clear that what I was watching was a commercial for Target.  Around 15 minutes and two and a half segments later, the actual report about The Amazing Race’s apology was aired.

No, I just do not get it.   For according to all sorts of news stories on scientific studies, we are now well into an age of 30-second attention spans at best.  So, why would televised news outlets insist upon stringing their viewers along?

Yes, I get that this is a tactic for the benefit of their advertising partners.  For at least a dozen commercials aired between the time that the lovely and talented Ms. Meade delivered that headline about The Amazing Race apology and when the actual report finally came up in the rotation, but with their now being literally thousands of different news outlets available to anyone with access to the internet, just how many of their initial viewers will still be there to hear the rest of the story?  Of course, the lovely and talented Ms. Meade truly is a sight to behold…

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Come Monday...Rise Above

“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of, or commentary about,  websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time.  Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.”  This is subject to change, however.  In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while.  For rants promote change, and change can be good—right?  Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).

If you are looking for a news source free of heavy political spin in one direction or another, [CNBC] may very well be what you are looking for, with their current [Rise Above] campaign serving as a good example of what I am talking about.  For it seeks to explain just how falling off of the looming [fiscal cliff] will impact everyone from Wall Street tycoons to Wal-Mart greeters in a way that even someone like myself can generally understand.

Oh yes, it would get us all, but some are better positioned to take the hit than others.  Just in case you are curious, Wall Street tycoons are in the best positions.  For they have enough money to take advantage of tax shelters that most Wal-Mart greeters have never heard of—nor ever will, if the current Democratic and Republican leadership gets their way.

WHAT?  Both Democratic and Republican leadership, but they are on opposite sides of the tax reform issue—right?

No, my dear Virginia, they most certainly are not.  That is, at least not when the cameras are not rolling.  For President Obama insisting that the rich must pay a higher tax rate is merely posturing for the benefit for his ignorant minions.  For he knows that it will generate very little in the way of new tax revenue to pay our bills while the Republicans are doing just as much posturing in the hope of appeasing Tea-Partiers, who have no idea just how little raising the rate for the highest tax-bracket will hurt prospects of getting the economy going again.

You see, if our law-makers were serious about tax reform, they would be getting serious about simplifying the code and getting us closer and closer to a flat-rate for all.  For the way things are now, it is entirely possible for a tiny little company like [GE] to pay [no taxes] while my wife will be charged an extra 10% when she has to cash-in her [401K] before she turns 55, which is what we must do to keep us from becoming homeless in the next six months.

Oh, but there is a rest to this story—is there not?  For tax reform is just one side of the double-edged sword, with federal spending being the other.

CNBC does a good job of covering cost-cutting stories, as well.  For that is where I first heard of the Pentagon paying for the study of such things as what [goldfish swimming patterns] can tell us about predicting political trends.

Did you hurt yourself again?  I would think that after knocking yourself out knee-jerking so many times in the past, you would learn to at least hold your head off to the side a bit more, but I am just an optimist at heart, I suppose.

Yes, the goldfish study is a prime example of just incredibly wasteful federal spending can be, but throwing the baby out with the bathwater will make a bad situation much worse.  This is what I keep hearing from Tea-Partiers.  For they want budgets slashed to bare-bones without giving any thought to how much they are will be taking away from truly great programs that would not exist outside of the federal government.

No, I am sorry, but the state of Missouri is not going to pay for veterans benefits—neither will any of the other individual states.  In fact, if the big movers and shakers in the [American Tea Party Movement] have their way, we will find ourselves back in the days where each of us are pretty much entirely on our own, which will work out wonderfully for those with the wherewithal to keep their own rears covered.  Ever hear of the rich getting richer?

Speaking of such, would you like to know just who holds the vast majority of our public debt?  Be assured that it is [not China].

No, this is not to suggest that we could just keep on keeping on as we have been.  For it is pure foolishness to keep borrowing when we don’t have to.

Nonetheless, what has been said about our huge national debt bringing about the total collapse of the world’s economy will become a self-fulfilling prophecy if the hard-core conservatives are not put in check.  For the international banking system is based upon trust—not hard assets.  In other words, the reason why we are still able to borrow all that we want without facing an era of hyper-inflation is on account of the rest of the world believing that we will honor our debts, and the louder the talk gets about us letting much of our own population and the rest of the world burn, the more confidence in us wanting to always do the right thing is eroded, which also effects how well our own central banks can do business, both here and abroad.  Just look at what has happened to [Greece] and [Spain] as examples of what we are looking at if we refuse to rise above partisan politics.

Please Also Visit:

[FishHawk Dropping]

and

[The Tribulation Times Herald-Exhorter]

Trib Updates

This is a weekly series that will include a brief summary of the latest articles that have been published on The Tribulation Times Herald-Exhorter.  Hopefully, this will encourage you to go check out some truly outstanding articles that have been published by a number of truly outstanding authors.  Moreover, I hope this will also encourage you to want to become a contributing member/author, as well.  The “Hear Ye!  Hear Ye!” site explanation near the top of the side-bar should answer many of your questions.  Yes, this series also included an “SOS! (Spam On Saturdays)”  segment before, but it just wasn’t working for me.  Therefore, that will be replaced by a republishing of one of the Trib articles.

[Birther Blather] has a video presentation of the alleged facts about President Obama being born in Kenya, amongst other things.

[By Their Own Authority] has a video of a worship service at T.D. Jakes’ Potter’s House.

[Whattahey?] contains the first edition of a weekly series featuring really bad video advertisments/television commercials that has been subsequently abandoned in favor of bringing back Good, Bad and Ugly Ads.

[ESPN Additions] contains the ad with the running of the sausages.

[WhiteHeart Wednesday] contains a video and the lyrics for Carry On.

[Demonic or Divine?] has a video clip from a National Geographic show on child preachers.

[Mary Moloney Is More]

A few nights ago, my wife and I were watching the 10 p.m. newscast on [KSPR] when we heard the anchor report that there have been no confirmed cases of the [West Nile Virus] in Missouri so far this year, according to the [CDC].  We looked at each with a befuddled look on our faces almost immediately.  For we were both sure that we had heard otherwise, and a visit to the CDC website a couple of hours later [confirmed] our suspicions.

Ah, but I took a gentle approach when I sent an email to the anchor.  For I asked if we may have misunderstood what she was reporting.

Well, I didn’t receive an email back from the anchor, but she did pass on my email to the lovely and talented Ms. [Mary Maloney], who did email me back.  As it turned out, Mary had actually written the copy for the piece on mosquitoes threatening to take over [Nixa], and I was delighted with her freely admitting that all of the facts had not been rechecked before going on the air with a story that KSPR had obtained some of from one of their news partners.  I was also delighted with her expressing a desire to get things as right as possible, and I thanked her for wanting to be more than just another very pretty on-air personality.

Yeah, she might have been just shining me on.  For on the very next night, it was reported that a judge had ruled that Apple and Samsung had both infringed upon each other’s patents, and that Apple would be owing Samsung a tidy sum of money, which left me with another befuddled look on my face after hearing from CNBC and several other news outlets a day or so earlier that Apple had clearly won in their lawsuit against Samsung over [patent infringements], but Mary may have had nothing to do with that KSPR report.

Just in case I have left you with a befuddled look of your own, there wouldn’t have been any confusion with the KSPR piece if it had of just included some context.  For the KSPR anchor was reporting on a ruling made by a [South Korean court], which came after the ruling for Apple in an [American court], which is what I had been hearing about before.

Evidently, the markets don’t hold much stock in the South Korean ruling.  For the price for Samsung stock [plummeted] anyway.

In any event, I have no doubt that Mary has some work ahead of her in the fight against misinformation, and I am afraid that she will not be able to get very far with it.  For it couldn’t have become as bad as it has without someone higher up on the management ladder being asleep in front of the monitor.  We’ll be watching to see how it goes.

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[FishHawk Droppings]

and

[The Tribulation Times Herald-Exhorter]