LEE RODGERS“I
SPEND, YOU PAY” –
OBAMA …
CHARISMA TRUMPS ABILITY …
TV/RADIO: IT'S ABOUT RATINGS, $
CHARISMA TRUMPS ABILITY …
TV/RADIO: IT'S ABOUT RATINGS, $
An arrogant president orders that raises be given to government officials and federal government employees. Obama obviously subscribes to the philosophy of the teachers' union: “Pay us more despite our failures, and we promise to do a better job. Or not.”
Implicit is the message to the diminishing number of taxpayers: “Ante up, suckers!”
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That evanescent quality called “charisma” is a poor basis for selecting a person to take on the serious responsibilities of the presidency. Nevertheless, given the ridiculous public worship of celebrity, the Republicans had better select someone with a generous measure of that charismatic quality as their next nominee. The most recent election proved beyond doubt that competence and integrity alone are insufficient for the majority of voters who choose to live in a fantasy world.
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David Keene, President of the NRA, observes the madness surrounding the latest chapter in the gun debate …
“In response to Columbine, then-President Bill Clinton and a Democratic Congress enacted a program called Cops in Schools. Today, 23,000 public and private U.S. schools provide armed security for our children. Yet when National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre suggested that armed security officers in our nation’s schools would help prevent the next Newtown, he was greeted immediately and unthinkingly with derision and hostility. A New York rag called him the 'Craziest man in America'; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dismissed the idea out of hand, and teachers’ unions went berserk about any hint that their members could protect their young charges.
“Away from the madding crowd, not everyone rejects the idea simply because the NRA suggested it. Mr. Christie was dismissive immediately, but the head of school security in Camden, N.J., must not have heard his governor’s comments before telling a reporter that he thought providing armed security was a good idea. Democratic California Sen. Barbara Boxer announced that she favors putting armed National Guardsmen in our schools. Ms. Boxer's far more radical suggestion caused barely any media ripple.”
– Washington Times
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Given the performance of most media stooges thru the presidential election campaign and the Connecticut school massacre, let us never again connect the words "objective" and "reporter."
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“The hope that four years of failed policy would be enough to repudiate the liberal/progressive ideology of the Obama administration ended when the majority of the American public voted to maintain their entitlements -- so long as someone else paid for them.
“It's time for conservatives to give serious thought to what they believe and how they can make a more persuasive case that conservative principles offer the best path for America. Conservatives have to do more than invoke small government, lower taxes and protection of the family. They have to explain the principles on which such policies are based and why those principles are more likely to fulfill the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on which the nation was founded.
“The idea that it is right and just for one group of persons to take from another the fruits of their labor simply because they have more political power would strike most people as unjust. Yet, the debate around raising tax rates on the rich ultimately boils down to that.”
– The admirable Linda Chavez, offering a vain hope. The freeloaders have won. The productive have lost.
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How the language is corrupted by inflation …
Historically, the term “millionaire” meant the total net worth of a person or family exceeded one million dollars – cash, investments, house, car(s) – everything accumulated.
Now the dollar is so devalued, thanks to endless printing of money by Obama's stooge Bernankecthat it has come to refer to an annual gross income of a million dollars.
Another example of how inflated money by an irresponsible government is the worst hidden tax. Or, more accurately, blatant thievery.
If Obama's suck-ups were honest, if asked who should be taxed more, they'd say, “Anyone who makes more money than my own income.”
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Len, the haiku master, strikes again …
Fundamental change.
Barack has more than one plan.
Year of many cliffs.
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I am endlessly bemused -- and amused -- by people who believe broadcasters whose radio stations offer talk-shows and commentary are guided by the political preferences of sinister "owners."
Having done on-air work in that genre for thirty-plus years, plus more on the management side, I can assure you that with a few minor exceptions, that is utter nonsense -- even though there are people in the lower ranks of the industry who are gullible enough to believe it.
I plied my trade for some of the biggest companies in the industry: ABC, Group W (which now owns CBS), Storer, RKO, Disney, Transcontinent, Pulitzer, Bonneville. Their management people had one thing in common. A determination to satisfy stockholders with an ever-growing return on investment. Only silly children (of whatever age) believe otherwise.
Given that most broadcast stations, cable and satellite operations are corporate owned with a vast and varied shareholder base made up of people of all political persuasions, to believe in an overriding political bias that drives programming is nonsense on the face of it.
Radio/TV is a BUSINESS. It runs on advertising dollars. Those dollars come if, and only if, the facility is running programming that will attract an audience that, either through sheer size or audience demographic profile, attracts those dollars.
If yodeling programs suddenly developed mass appeal, I assure you that many of today's stations that broadcast all-news, conservative talk, liberal talk, 24-hour sports or rock music would tomorrow be scouring the mountains of Switzerland for yodelers.
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A life in radio (cont.) ...
I once killed a man. Maybe. Inadvertently. Indirectly.
Fritz Wunderlich was a German operatic tenor with an incredible voice. On a whim, someone at the record company which marketed his work released a single recording of him singing a Christmas song in English. It may have been "Silent Night"; my recollection is not entirely clear.
I was doing a daily radio program in Chicago. The record caught my ear and I began playing it. I was always on the lookout for something unlikely to be heard of any other station or program.
Requests to repeat it poured in and it became a big local hit in Chicago. Some other big-city stations heard about the stir it was causing and also began playing it.
Soon a concert promoter made a deal for Fritz to do what would surely be a lucrative American tour.
The night before he was to fly to the U.S. to begin his series of appearances, he was celebrating at a farewell party with a group of friends. Rumor had it that that beverages were flowing freely. Perhaps Fritz over-indulged.
In any case, he fell down a flight of stairs, broke his neck ... and died. Too young. He was just short of his 36th birthday.
An ironic footnote: A few weeks later, I got a very touching letter from his father. He wrote to thank me for all I had done for his son.
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Argus Hamilton --
"Psychology Today warns that post-holiday blues may trigger depression as people return to their normal lives next week. The good news is, researchers at NYU have discovered a technique that erases fear and bad memories in humans. It's called whiskey."
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The reader who signs himself The Lone Writer submits a treatise on the philosophy of ambiguity ... (with, I suspect, a bow due Steven Wright) ...
DON'T SWEAT THE PETTY THINGS AND DON'T PET THE SWEATY THINGS.
ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR.
ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.
I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.
WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?
IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?
CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?
"...and now, if you'll excuse me..."