It should tell you something that MTV is still highly valued by Hollywood as the televised center of the coolness universe. Why else would a top movie star like Tom Cruise dress up ridiculously as a fat, bald, bearded guy and embarrass himself in a profanity-littered skit on the MTV Movie Awards? Cruise opened the show by saying he was going to take the program, put it up his posterior, and make it a diamond. He welcomed viewers to "Relax, and enjoy my two-hour giant s--." And so it began, an apt description for the two hours that followed. What... continue reading
The last two presidents have been elected on the very dubious campaign promise of "changing the tone" of Washington. Either could have proven his sincerity by shredding the press credentials of the White House press corps Dean of Mean, Helen Thomas. Her tone was nasty, and her "questions" usually meant more as insults than as requests for information. Still, presidents and journalists alike bowed and scraped before her, as if she were the Queen of All Media. Her reign ended with an implosion. A rabbi and two high-school kids in yarmulkes exposed Thomas as not merely anti-Israel, but anti-Semitic. Asked... continue reading
Bill O'Reilly recently hosted a "culture warriors" segment at Fox News where both "warriors" agreed that homosexuality is morally acceptable. That same no-debate mentality has been a regular drumbeat on the Fox television series "Glee," a musical drama/comedy about a high school glee club in Lima, Ohio. This show is wildly popular because of the music. Songs performed on the show sell feverishly on i-Tunes within hours. It's not a hit because it's a political or social debate forum. But just as it dazzles viewers with musical performances, it's hammered hard against traditional values at every turn. How does "Glee"... continue reading
PBS station managers made a big push last year to drive any trace of "sectarian" Christianity out of the taxpayer-funded broadcasting system, banning any church services or religious lectures that appeared on a handful of stations. They ultimately compromised and banned any new church programming . But on at least one program, PBS sounds like it's declaring war on Christianity, including smears on Christianity that are not based on reality. If that sounds shocking, imagine what the average Christian PBS viewer might have thought as he watched Tavis Smiley's weeknight talk show on May 25. The guest was ex-Muslim and... continue reading
CBS announced its new fall lineup to advertisers and the entertainment press on May 18. After all the jawing and legal wrangling back and forth over televised profanity, and whether it's somehow not profane if it's blurted out accidentally, CBS has ended the debate over accidents. The artists formerly known as the classy "Tiffany Network" have very deliberately introduced a new show called "$#*! My Dad Says." That's right - the fecal curse word starting with an S in the title. They pronounce it "Bleep My Dad Says." They could simply have called it "Stuff My Dad Says" and not... continue reading
Radio talk-show host Bill Press is the tiniest of fish in the radio ocean, but this minnow's all over the place complaining about the whales. The problem is, of course, that if the market is any kind of measurement, no one knows, or cares, that he's written a book. So he's written a column to self-tout "Toxic Talk: How the Radical Right Has Poisoned America's Airwaves." Press writes about the good ol' days of civil discourse, but "that's not what we hear nonstop today." And who's to blame? "Honest disagreement on the issues has been replaced by a barrage of... continue reading
The 2010 World Cup opens in South Africa in a few weeks. As a sports event it is unrivaled in its popularity. It promises to bring a half-million soccer fans to that country. But it will also draw out the worst of the worst. The Christian Science Monitor reports that the economic promise of an expected half a million largely male incoming consumers is attracting a massive influx of prostitutes from across the border in Zimbabwe. Hotel managers are guessing that as many as 40,000 ladies of the evening are assembling from as far away as Hong Kong, Pakistan, and... continue reading
Liberal reporters always think that the liberal politicians they're covering are the smartest people in the room. In fact, when they're opposing something, they're so smart that they don't have to read the policy they're discussing. They have a clairvoyant sense of how wrong it is. Congressman Ted Poe of Texas exposed this liberal arrogance on May 13 at a House Judiciary Committee hearing. He was questioning Attorney General Eric Holder on the "controversial" (to the media, that is) Arizona immigration law. He asked an elementary question, although to liberals, it was shocking in its insolence: "Have you read the... continue reading
From Uppsala, Sweden comes the news that cartoonist Lars Vilks was attacked and head-butted by an angry Muslim at a university lecture. A group of Muslims surrounding him shouted "God is great!" in Arabic as the cartoonist laid on the floor, his glasses broken. Ever since Vilks impolitely drew the prophet Muhammad's head on a dog, he's been a wanted man. Even the American terrorist wannabe nicknamed "Jihad Jane" plotted to kill him. This explains why Comedy Central's "South Park" has been censoring images that might offend Muslims. The executives at Comedy Central (and their parent company Viacom) regularly pledge... continue reading
It's more than a little tiresome to contemplate that every current liberal Supreme Court justice was touted by the national media as a moderate or even a conservative when they were originally announced, from John Paul Stevens to Sonia Sotomayor. Dan Rather even claimed the last retiree, David Souter, was dangerously "anti-women's rights" when he was nominated in 1990. So it was less than shocking that the latest liberal nominee, Elena Kagan, drew the same phony "moderate" baloney. ABC anchor Diane Sawyer greeted the nomination with goo: "She is expected to play a role as somewhat of a conciliator, the... continue reading