PIED TYPE
television
MDA telethon airs without Jerry Lewis
Apparently a lot of people are aghast that Jerry Lewis wasn’t hosting this year’s Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day telethon. There are claims Lewis was forced out suddenly because of something he said recently and speculation that he was hesitant or evasive in explaining his departure. Conspiracy theories abound. People are outraged. I don’t get it. … Continue reading
Whatever Sarah wants, Sarah (still) gets
I was enjoying my morning coffee, still in that comfy half-awake, pre-caffeinated state, easing into my day, sort of watching CNN because it’s a totally passive endeavor. And suddenly there was Sarah Palin’s shrill, irritating, clueless voice cutting through it all like a jagged knife. There she was filling my screen. And it wasn’t a … Continue reading
Fox contributor pans ‘princess’ shirts for girls
Sandy Rios, a Fox News contributor, talked at length this morning about parents sending the wrong message to their daughters by buying them T-shirts saying “princess,” “beautiful,” or “pretty.” Bad, bad, bad she said. We should be addressing their character. We should buy them shirts saying “Dogs are wonderful,” etc. Apparently these evil T-shirts (and … Continue reading
Reporter gives update covered in ‘sea foam’
This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time, and certainly the funniest to come out of the Hurricane Irene coverage. The reporter is getting covered in blowing sea foam, which most of us know by now was full of raw sewage. Hence the foam. In my book, this goes far beyond reporters … Continue reading
My politically incorrect stance on 9/11
The TV promos have started. The special programs have started. The tenth anniversary of 9/11 is almost here and it’s clear we are going to be swamped with special observances, special programs, special coverage. Everything imaginable to observe and commemorate the date. To remember every painful detail and death. Well, I won’t be watching. I’ll … Continue reading
Thoughts on Irene
I’ve had the TV on all day, tuned to CNN, watching the news and worrying about everyone on the East Coast. Specifically, I worry about those few individuals I know there. I keep reminding myself that these folks will undoubtedly be listening to their local officials, not CNN news hounds, and will have the best, … Continue reading
Nothing funny about Irene
Not to minimize the danger and disruption that Hurricane Irene is about to spread up the East Coast, but I’ve gotten a bit fixated on one recurring detail in the reporting. Every time a meteorologist stands in front of a weather map and points out the “cone of probability” for Irene’s path, I can’t help … Continue reading
‘Please don’t shoot, sir’
CNN’s Sara Sidner (pronounced Side-ner) has spent most of the day reporting from in and around Gadhafi’s compound in Tripoli, Libya. What a woman! That’s right. A woman. Flak jacket, helmet. Calm voice, scarcely flinching, as Libyan rebels all around her fired guns into the air in celebration. Conducting interviews, pointing out things, moving down … Continue reading
Zakaria is right about the debt ceiling
This morning on his “Global Public Square” program, Fareed Zakaria zeroed in on the debt ceiling debate. And he nailed it. If only Washington would listen to him! You can read his entire commentary, “The damage is already done,” or watch the full video, or both, on the CNN website. The following is just a … Continue reading
Casey who?
Someone please explain to me why the media is so fixated on the Casey Anthony trial. She’s a nobody, like most of the other accused murderers tried in this country every day. She’s a mother accused of killing her child. Many other women have been tried for killing their children. The only reason I see … Continue reading
NBC and its ‘godless’ U.S. Open
Had I watched the U.S. Open over the weekend, I might have seen the little patriotic montage that NBC ran. But I doubt I would have noticed what seems to have upset a lot of people — the scenes were pieced together in a way that skipped the phrase “under God” when the Pledge of … Continue reading
Wowee, it’s presidential debate time … again … still
I can’t believe I watched. I can’t believe I watched the whole thing. All two hours’ worth. I refer to the CNN Republican candidates’ debate in New Hampshire. Actually, when they started, Michele Bachmann wasn’t an official candidate. But she announced her candidacy during the broadcast. Isn’t she the sly one. Beyond that, she managed … Continue reading
She does too know about Paul Revere!
She Who Must Not Be Named (you know, the one from Alaska). who failed miserably the other day when answering a question about Paul Revere, defended herself this morning on Fox News. (She refuses to appear on any other network.) It was another of those goshdarnit gotcha questions from the “lamestream” media, she explained, and … Continue reading
Thanks for the memories, James Arness
James Arness, who played Marshall Matt Dillon on TV’s “Gunsmoke” for twenty years, died today. He was 88. “Gunsmoke,” one of the first so-called “adult Westerns” on television, debuted in 1955 and ran until 1975. And I was a huge fan. Before “Gunsmoke,” I’d followed every other Western star and series I could find — … Continue reading
Methinks Weiner doth protest too much
Since last weekend, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) has been denying that a lewd photo sent from his Twitter account came from him. Not just a simple, unequivocal, “I did not send that photo,” but a days-long dance with the press where he has tried not so much to deny it as to over-explain how it … Continue reading
Those intrepid reporters
Reporters are a strange lot. They run to places that others run from. They delight in pestering people with annoying or even rude questions. They puff up stories and report them as news even when they aren’t. Take this morning for example. Air Force One had to “abort” a landing in Florida. That’s not news. … Continue reading
Cafferty strikes again
Jack Cafferty lost his senses today and read another of my comments on the air. He was ranting (don’t we all?) about our ridiculous income tax system and asked what viewers would do to change it. I dashed off the first thing that came to mind and was about the 100th person to comment, so … Continue reading
The giraffe is back
DirecTV’s silly Russian guy is back with another ad. He has added a weightlifter to his entourage of beautiful women. Also back and busily upstaging him is his mini giraffe. No longer a lazy, pampered pet, the giraffe is now working out on a treadmill, inspired by a screen full of free-running wild giraffes. At … Continue reading
Egypt through the media’s eyes
Cable news has been fixated on events in Egypt for more than a week now. The citizens are demonstrating; they want their president of thirty years, Hosni Mubarak, to leave the country — now. Not after the September elections, as he has promised, but now. We’ve heard detailed analyses of why the US government has … Continue reading
Jon Stewart, American
A Huffington Post reader submitted this video to HuffPo as a memorable highlight of Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” As painful as it is to go back to the days following 9/11, this shows the kind of American and human being Stewart is. It also makes one wonder how we could be so divided now, … Continue reading
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