After the mass shooting in Tucson of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a federal judge, and other bystanders, President Obama gave one of those unite-the-divide speeches that give journalists leg thrills. We need to 'sharpen our instincts for empathy,' he said. He lamented political finger-pointing: 'It's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.' The initial speculation was that conservatives were responsible for the Tucson horror. Even after this proved to be false, the attacks were relentless, with a barrage of media... continue reading
The pied pipers at MTV were certainly delighted that they attracted their largest audience ever measured for their Video Music Awards show, more than 12 million viewers. It began with Lady Gaga as a male impersonator and ended with rapper Lil Wayne dancing around wearing women's leggings affixed literally below his rear end. Lil Wayne's 'song' was called 'John (If I Die Today).' It was so studded with F-bombs and N-words that more of this number may have been bleeped than aired. There are five F-bombs in the first eight lines. It starts: 'Four-four Bulldog, my m-f-ing pet / I... continue reading
Al Sharpton has never found a crisis he couldn't exploit – even when they don't exist – his claim to fame. On Friday's pre-hurricane episode of his MSNBC show, he warned 'Hurricane Irene is nonpartisan' and was threatening both red and blue states. That nonpartisanship doesn't extend to hurricane coverage on TV, where liberals once again boast about the glories of government disaster aid, and conservatives are trashed as lunatics for wanting to limit the untrammeled growth of spending on natural disasters. Sharpton began his show by announcing 'the desperate race to get ready and keep people safe reminds us... continue reading
The ratings-hungry producers/exploiters of "reality" TV are in an ongoing search for 'edgy' people who are combustibly watchable and whose lust for fame overrides any sense of moral judgment. Then they act shocked when their 'characters' self-destruct. The latest Exhibit A: the suicide by hanging of Russell Armstrong, the husband of one of Bravo's 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.' His death came just weeks before Bravo planned to begin airing its second season, in which he would be ridiculed before millions. Sadly, this isn't the first time. There was the boxer from NBC's 2005 program "The Contender" who shot himself... continue reading
One of the greatest perversions of statism is the use of taxpayer money to push for ever more government spending and more government intervention. A casual listener to the far-left end of the FM dial, National Public Radio, will quickly conclude that NPR is one of America's leading offenders in this perversion. Let's just take one show, the August 22 evening newscast "All Things Considered," perhaps one of the most ill-named programs in the history of radio. Conservatism is never considered. It is only besmirched, assaulted, and rhetorically dismembered. NPR anchor Robert Siegel was covering the new Martin Luther King... continue reading
A man sits on a roof, wearing a Santa hat. He's talking to his ex-girlfriend on a cell phone trying with fake cheer to wish her a Merry Christmas. He asks if she's with her new boyfriend. Yes, she replies, and she's with her whole family, opening presents. He says "That's great, because I have a present for you" – and saws off his own head so it falls down the chimney into the fireplace. This isn't a horror movie. It's a cartoon , filmed in stop-motion animation like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." It runs on the Cartoon Network, which... continue reading
In the last election cycle, we heard a lot of complaining about the sexist treatment accorded to Hillary Clinton as she campaigned for president. One magazine wrote, 'It's her resilience and capacity to survive and thrive against all comers that partly fuels the haters' fury.' They even wrote 'The anti-Hillary industry has never managed to bring down Hillary herself — in fact, the more they have attacked, the higher she has risen.' That would be Newsweek magazine, in the June 18, 2007 issue. Four years later, Newsweek was mocking Republican candidate Michele Bachmann on its cover, making her look pale... continue reading
This fall, the Showtime movie channel will air its sixth season of "Dexter," their show glorifying a just serial killer. They recently finished a fourth season of a show called "Californication," which debuted in 2007 with a dream sequence in which the lead character receives oral sex from a nun in a church. So it might seem surprising (or....perhaps not) that Showtime's new promotional package for the fall wraps Showtime characters around...Christianity. The new slogan is "Showtime Saves." The low point in this perverse campaign is the visuals of the murderous Dexter character with golden-sunshine rays of holiness. Their St... continue reading
Just as with the last Republican takeover of the House in 1995, it was easy to predict the media elite were going to dig deep into the mud and throw every smear they had at the new conservative powers in town. Congress finally passed, and the president signed, a deeply deficient kick-the-can compromise into law in order to raise the debt ceiling. Tea Party conservatives correctly denounced the deal as woefully inadequate. When Standard & Poor's downgraded the creditworthiness of the United States government, Sen. John Kerry shamelessly labeled it a 'Tea Party downgrade,' and no one in the press... continue reading
NBC has placed a new drama called "The Playboy Club" on its fall schedule to capitalize on the scandalous sound of America's most famous pornography empire. If this network had any shame at all, it wouldn't be so desperate to associate itself with female exploitation. So far, one brave NBC affiliate, KSL in Salt Lake City, has refused to join in this porn-promoting parade. "The Playboy brand is known internationally," KSL President Mark Willes declared. "Everyone is clear what it stands for. We want to be sure everyone is clear whatthe KSL brand stands for, which is completely inconsistent with... continue reading