And Still, I get the News I need on the Weather Report

[DOUGHBOYS]

Permit me please to go on a little rant about the society we live in.
I've spoken about the wussification of America before, but it is starting to go deeper than that.
I try not to listen to any type of news. I live by the Paul Simon line, 'I get the news I need on the weather report'.
If something important happens in the world, my wife will tell me. In the car, I listen to XM 60's or 70's and the MLB channels. At home, I avoid news channels. Even with all this self-protection, friends and family still talk about current events.

They tell me of how Paul Dean has been fryed, grilled, and pickled by the press for admitting to using the 'N' word a long time ago. Hmm, a woman from the south using the N word. Go figure.
And yet, so called 'songs' with a repetitious deep base and streams of words that happen to rhyme can feature the N word at any time.
What?
I don't get it.

Yesterday, I was at the dentist office. While in the waiting room, I was 'treated' to a news on the hour report over the intercom.
At the end of this little report, the commentator spoke of how George Clooney and his girl friend were breaking up because he did not want a child and she did.
What?
Slow freakin news day?
Or is this what the news is like now?
America has to take a look at what is news and what is not news.
Paula Dean saying the N word, even today, not news.
Because I don't care!
She is a celebrity, so it makes news.
In the mean time, her next door neighbor can order up two maids, preferably black, because they match their decor better, and not a word is spoken.

George Clooney is still relevant? Was he ever really relevant?
He must be, because his choice not to have a child and breaking up with his girl friend over it was important enough to be on the news.
Our press is crossing the line in thinking that celebrities are important.
They're not.
In reality, they are cooks or actors who fair well in front of a camera.
That's all. No more, no less.
I don't care what Paula Dean said. I don't care about George Clooney and his easily replaced girl friend.

We live in a great country. Our forefathers gave us a lot of freedoms. Among them, was freedom of the press.
The press has evolved from newspapers to radio to television to the internet. And in that time, you'd think the press would be smarter in reporting the news.
But now, our forefathers are rolling over in their graves, indignant in that they sure as hell, did not add the words, 'to be stupid' in giving freedom of the press.

It happens in baseball too.
I try watching the MLB channel every once in a while. It's hard for me to watch because they goo goo all over these players as I picture the press doing with George Clooney.
They also laugh at each other's jokes, pretending each line is funny.
Annoying.
These are baseball players. They're very good at what they do. And sometimes, they're not.
Yes, both on the field and in the studio.
MLB does not like to focus on the 'sometimes, they're not' aspect, preferring to make SuperMan out of mere mortals.
When I make the mistake of starting Barry Zito on a fantasy team, I want to be lambasted like Barry Zito should be lambasted for a poor performance.
Instead, 'he had trouble with his command' or he 'left a few pitches over the plate'.
BAH!
WERE YOU WATCHING WHAT I WAS WATCHING?
He sucked!
It wasn't that he did not have his good stuff! He didn't have ANY stuff.
Don't sugarcoat it and say that it was a few bad pitches!
It was a lot of bad pitches! Barry and I should be criticized to the hilt for being horrible!
But, we aren't.


I've noticed that any time Tampa wins a game and that game is closed out by Fernando Rodney, that it is the network's absolute responsibility to capture Rodney with his 'bow and arrow' finish.
However, when the Yankees win a game and Mariano Rivera closes, Rivera does not have to be pictured.
The gimmick that Rodney uses, works.
He gets more air time because he acts like it was he, and he alone, who has brought victory to his team.
In the mean time, Rivera shakes hands with teammates like Barry Sanders scoring a touchdown, taking gratification in that the goal was met.
Rivera gets it, MLB does not.


I did go into the dentists lair and after the 'howdy do's', I asked him if he'd heard the news about George Clooney.
He said, 'What news?'
After telling him, he said, 'That was on the news?'
I said, 'Perfect response, Doc.'
"You can do your worst to me now, it'll be less painful than listening to another damned 'news' report."

[Navel Lint]

Permit me please to go on a little rant about the society we live in.
I've spoken about the wussification of America before, but it is starting to go deeper than that.
I try not to listen to any type of news. I live by the Paul Simon line, 'I get the news I need on the weather report'.
If something important happens in the world, my wife will tell me. In the car, I listen to XM 60's or 70's and the MLB channels. At home, I avoid news channels. Even with all this self-protection, friends and family still talk about current events.

They tell me of how Paul Dean has been fryed, grilled, and pickled by the press for admitting to using the 'N' word a long time ago. Hmm, a woman from the south using the N word. Go figure.
And yet, so called 'songs' with a repetitious deep base and streams of words that happen to rhyme can feature the N word at any time.
What?
I don't get it.

Yesterday, I was at the dentist office. While in the waiting room, I was 'treated' to a news on the hour report over the intercom.
At the end of this little report, the commentator spoke of how George Clooney and his girl friend were breaking up because he did not want a child and she did.
What?
Slow freakin news day?
Or is this what the news is like now?
America has to take a look at what is news and what is not news.
Paula Dean saying the N word, even today, not news.
Because I don't care!
She is a celebrity, so it makes news.
In the mean time, her next door neighbor can order up two maids, preferably black, because they match their decor better, and not a word is spoken.

George Clooney is still relevant? Was he ever really relevant?
He must be, because his choice not to have a child and breaking up with his girl friend over it was important enough to be on the news.
Our press is crossing the line in thinking that celebrities are important.
They're not.
In reality, they are cooks or actors who fair well in front of a camera.
That's all. No more, no less.
I don't care what Paula Dean said. I don't care about George Clooney and his easily replaced girl friend.................


...............I did go into the dentists lair and after the 'howdy do's', I asked him if he'd heard the news about George Clooney.
He said, 'What news?'
After telling him, he said, 'That was on the news?'
I said, 'Perfect response, Doc.'
"You can do your worst to me now, it'll be less painful than listening to another damned 'news' report."

We have the news that we have asked for.

When Ted Turner announced that he would create CNN, the first 24-hour News network, newshounds around the country rejoiced. No longer would we have to get our news in the form of 22 minute headlines wrapped around burger, cola and car ads once a night. News would be brought to us in long form, by respected anchors and journalist who would be given the time to report and analyze the stories of the day. Except something happened…..no one watched.

Take your use of Paula Dean for example. Respectfully speaking, from your creation of multiple posts about her, it would outwardly appear that you are the one fixated on her story. Now I know that’s probably not true, and that in reality you were just using her as fodder to make a larger point. Yet your post about her on the General Discussion page received several responses directly relating to her story, even though you were just using her as illustration for something else. Meanwhile your brilliant post about Alex and the Eternal Tree on a baseball message board goes unanswered.

And so in the end, even Ted Turner needs to sell advertising to make a buck and we are treated to the perils of a leading man in Hollywood and how difficult it must be to date beautiful women all the time.

[DOUGHBOYS]

We have the news that we have asked for.

When Ted Turner announced that he would create CNN, the first 24-hour News network, newshounds around the country rejoiced. No longer would we have to get our news in the form of 22 minute headlines wrapped around burger, cola and car ads once a night. News would be brought to us in long form, by respected anchors and journalist who would be given the time to report and analyze the stories of the day. Except something happened…..no one watched.

Take your use of Paula Dean for example. Respectfully speaking, from your creation of multiple posts about her, it would outwardly appear that you are the one fixated on her story. Now I know that’s probably not true, and that in reality you were just using her as fodder to make a larger point. Yet your post about her on the General Discussion page received several responses directly relating to her story, even though you were just using her as illustration for something else. Meanwhile your brilliant post about Alex and the Eternal Tree on a baseball message board goes unanswered.

And so in the end, even Ted Turner needs to sell advertising to make a buck and we are treated to the perils of a leading man in Hollywood and how difficult it must be to date beautiful women all the time.

I never asked for the news

I do like using Paula Dean to illustrate larger points.
My love for Muhammad Ali grew out of my Dad calling him an 'uppity N word'. I never thought less of my dad. I never thought more of him either. It was just a word in the 60's. Now, that word has grown to be the perceived possible crumbling of our politically correct society.
BAH! We are so full of ourselves.
Today, BJ Upton reached first after a swinging strike three. Upon taking his leadoff, the f-bomb clearly came from his lips. Then he got picked off.It made me think less of BJ Upton for mouthing that word in a public forum (not to mention being picked off as he was saying it and being a dumb ass) with kids watching then my Dad using the N word behind closed doors.
And yet, BJ Upton will go on his merry way in making millions of dollars while performing with immense mediocrity.
The press will leave him alone. In this politically correct society, it is ok to say the 'f' word, just don't say the 'n' word.
And I'm left wondering, why does the press get to make the rules in which word is worse than the other?

And yes, again I have used poor Paula to make a larger point

And thanks for the nice things about 'The Eternal Tree'.
I loved writing that piece.