There are days when you get up and stare at the front page of the newspaper and you just have to put the paper back down. May 30 was one of those days. After escaping for the long Memorial Day weekend, one returns to the real world Tuesday morning. But those who read The Washington Post are reminded that some people live forever in the world of make-believe.Witness the front-page headline: "Clinton Is A Politician Not Easily Defined: Senator's Platform Remains Unclear." That is to politics what "The DaVinci Code" is to theology. When you pick up the paper again... continue reading
The more Americans live the fast-paced, overworked life, the more their young children are over-entertained. It isn't that parents intend to introduce their children to the world by having them gaping blank-faced into a television screen. But when there's work to be done, or just noise to be muffled, parents can see the benefits of young children glued to the TV, quiet and still. At least that's how I would defend myself, if challenged to explain why my children watch more television than they should. In the final analysis, however, this exercise in parental laxity is not only indefensible, it's... continue reading
Seven years ago, the entire country was rocked by the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Hundreds of news stories and hours upon hours of cable news dwelled upon the horrid and senseless slaughter perpetrated by diabolic teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Thirteen were killed and twenty were wounded on that awful, awful day - April 20, 1999. That black story is back in the news, with a twist that is at once shocking and sadly, unsurprising. The Rocky Mountain News reports some deeply disturbed jerk has produced an Internet video game out of the Columbine massacre... continue reading
The Dixie Chicks and their marketing gurus clearly know publicity. They asked themselves: How can we get ourselves featured on the cover of Time and hailed on CBS's "60 Minutes" just before the new CD comes out? Easy. Trash George W. Bush again. Time's cover had the three women framed in black with the celebratory title "Radical Chicks." They were famous not because of their music, but because "They criticized the war and were labeled unpatriotic." That's a bit off. They criticized George W. Bush, with lead singer Natalie Maines telling a London audience the band so despised him they... continue reading
Here is the most insincere question a liberal TV news star can ask: How can President Bush turn around his poll numbers? Imagine how they would have reacted if Rush Limbaugh had pretended to worry how Bill Clinton was going to turn around his fortunes. The media's crocodile tears are not even laughable, just nauseating. Pushing down the president's approval rating seems to be their daily task. The newest manufactured brouhaha - over the National Security Agency creating a database of phone records to track terrorist phone patterns - was just the latest in a long string of stories trumped... continue reading
When Mel Gibson introduced "The Passion of the Christ" into the public conversation, Hollywood had a lot to say about it. Now Hollywood is offering its response with the upcoming release of "The DaVinci Code," inviting commentary not on that movie, but on Hollywood itself. Three years ago, Mel Gibson gambled his own personal fortune on a great creative risk, going completely outside the established Tinseltown system to produce a horrifyingly realistic reenactment of Our Lord's crucifixion, and resurrection. It took not just sacrifice but also real courage to make this. The studios all scoffed at the idea. The reviews... continue reading
You may want to look fast, but the Democratic National Committee's website still has a "Republican Culture of Corruption" page, implying that by installing the Democrats back in the congressional majority, we'll have a virtual monastery of ethical restraint in Washington - with leaders like Patrick Kennedy setting the example. The Democratic "culture of corruption" charge is taking more of a beating than the traffic barricade that introduced itself to Congressman Kennedy's car last week. ABC, CBS, and NBC all devoted some serious air time to the story, and the fact that Capitol Police supervisors waved off a sobriety test... continue reading
If it was meant to be a passing fancy, it shows no sign of abatement. In fact, "reality" television seems to be seeping out of every crack and crevice on the tube these days. Hollywood is satisfying audiences' desire for extravagant new setups that create the prerequisite audacious buzz. Some of these shows sound worse than they really are. The A&E cable channel aired "God or the Girl," about the struggle of four young Catholic men as to whether they will join the priesthood. It sounded like the typically obnoxious Hollywood offering. It was expected that producers would throw loose... continue reading
A few weeks ago, the pollsters for NBC and The Wall Street Journal asked this question: "If thousands of immigrants in the U.S. do not show up for work on May 1st in protest of immigration policy, do you think this will do more to help their cause, do more to hurt their cause, or have no real effect either way?" Fifty-seven percent said it would hurt their cause. Only 17 percent said it would help. But that point is being roundly and deliberately ignored by the national media. Tossed and turned by internal diversity police who demand a greater... continue reading
A war has begun. The four largest broadcast television networks and 800 of their affiliates are taking the Federal Communications Commission to federal court. For the public, the claim is that the FCC's latest fine of CBS is unconstitutional and does not apply a clear and consistent standard on matters of decency. It's true that the FCC has not always come to agreement on fines with perfect consistency. But for anyone following the decency debate, this network argument is drop-to-your-knees funny. The broadcasters, saying the regulators have an inconsistent standard on decency? The broadcasters rate their programs for parents using... continue reading