The CBS sitcom Two and Half Men has been on the air for almost ten years. In that time we have watch the 1/2 man, Jake, played by actor Angus T. Jones, grow up into the young man he is today. This week a YouTube video had Jones, a recent born again Christian, pleading for his fans to stop watching his show because it was nothing but filth and part of Satan’s plan. I respect his commitment to his new faith but it is obvious he doesn’t mind cashing the paychecks from his filthy show.
The Ultimate Guide to the Political Talk Shows
I am sick and tired. I have tried to watch them but I can’t stand it any more. They are hurting the political discourse in this country and outside the wonks who live and breathe politics, they have no relationship with average people. I’m talking about political talk shows. Here is the ultimate guide so you never have to watch them again.
I should clarify one point. The shows and the news in general on the broadcast networks have an effect on average people more than those on cable but all of them still are pretty much worthless unless you obsess about politics.
Ultimate Political Talk Show Guide
1. The shows covered under this guide is as follows:
ABC This Week
CBS Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer
Fox Fox News Sunday w/ Chris Wallace
NBC Meet the Press with David Gregory
PBS The McLaughlin Group
Cable
CNN State of the Union with Candy Crowley
CNN Reliable Sources
MSNBC The Ed Show
MSNBC Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann
MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show
FOXNEWS Any show at any hour
2. Formats are pretty much the same in that they allow for unquestioning press release spin
3 Except for the MSNBC shows, the spin is at least misleading and in most cases lies.
4. Again except for the MSNBC shows, the hosts never really ask follow up questions.
5. The shows all have the same guests and those guests lean toward the GOP with a token Democrat in some cases. Again MSNBC is the opposite – having mostly Democratic or left leaning guests but the GOP rarely appears on MSNBC shows even as tokens.
6. MSNBC shows are better because they at least stick with facts and the truth even when it looks bad for Democrats and liberals in general. The other shows “concern troll” for the Democrats on all topics and accept the GOP talking points as true on their face.
7. The hosts and/or guests on any FOX “News” shows are either stupid, racists, or both at the same time.
8. All shows tend to have stories and topics that are important only to those who live inside the Washington DC beltway. Occasionally, most likely the MSNBC shows will actually have a topic of importance to all Americans.
9. Most of these shows favor “drama” over substance where yelling and arguing is seen as “good”, except for Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann, and The Rachel Maddow Show. Or they obsess on the political process which is like watching sausage being made.
10. You don’t have to watch any of the shows live or on your DVR. You can go to the network websites and watch clips, watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report to get a funny take on what the shows have on, or visit these websites:
and for special handling of FOX “News” crap:
11. Although it seems some shows might be better than the others, at the end of the day you don’t need to watch them to keep yourself informed. They take up time better spent with friends and family and laughing and having fun.
More on the incestuous nature of mainstream media
Many years ago there was a movie out called “They Live” Aliens had taken over the Earth and to keep the humans under control they used different means like camouflage and subliminal propaganda to mask their presence. The hero of the movie is given some special sun glasses that allows him to see the aliens and all the propaganda that wasn’t seen by the naked eye. He joins the resistance and fights the aliens. I tend to see the current mainstream media – the news programs on NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox networks as similar to the aliens and I wish I could give everyone sun glasses so they could see it too.
I have written many times about the incestuous relationship between the talking heads on news shows like Meet the Press, This Week, State of the Union, Fox Sunday, and the like. Regular “Joe the Plumber” conservatives cry about a liberal bias in the news yet these shows have no liberal bias. These shows tend to lean right or center right as the same people are on every week.
They are allowed to make any kind of statement they want – even if it is a lie – and the hosts or moderator don’t challenge them about it. Also, even though the programs claims to be discussion shows, little is discussed. The networks seem to think that all policy views are equal and have a pro and con side while at the same time stacking the deck in favor of the party currently out of power – the GOP.
Blogger driftglass had an excellent post about this:
because George W. Bush’s codpiece was an Invincible Christian Peace Shield that would keep us all safe from the scary brown foreigners forever.
We were right. About everything.
They were wrong — tragically, catastrophically, completely wrong. About everything.
And yet they still are on the Inside. Sleek and prosperous.
While we still fight for scraps on the Outside.
On “Meet the Press”
A rich guy and his wife talked about giving.
And Reverend Rick Warren said “I’ve spoken at Davos many times…”
And then I turned the channel.
On “This Week” Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) used his one appearance on national teevee to cock-punch Senator Lindsey Graham (R-John McCain’s underwear drawer) during his 355th such appearance.
The Roundtable consisted of one liberal — Paul Krugman — and four members-in-good-standing of the Conservative/Beltway Insider Axis; Matthew Dowd, George Will, Cokie Roberts and Dan Senor, who, if you didn’t know (because they didn’t mention it) was, among other things, Deputy to Bush White House Spokesliar Scott McClellan
[Senor] currently draws a paycheck playing pundit for…wait for it…Fox News, and completed the Beltway Insider circle of life by marrying CNN on-air personality Campbell Brown in 2006.
Yesterday he was brought on camera to share his infinite wisdom on the subject of foreign policy, because who on Earth could possibly be more credible and qualified? Except maybe Dick Cheney’s daughter?
That’s why I refuse to watch those news programs and yesterday when President Obama gave his Afghanistan speech I turned off the analysis programs that followed.
The best part of driftglasses post is the final bit that had some Fox talking heads complaining about the recently man and woman who crashed the state dinner:
Yes, that’s right: the degenerate sons of Mike Wallace and Irvin Kristol…
…sitting on the set of their fake news show…
…lavishly adorned with blonde Fox news bimbos…
…and collecting the paychecks for telling lies to stupid people…Are pretending to be stunned that American culture has grown so sick that some fortune-seeking, second-generation, spoiled rich twat of a con artist…
…would use his contacts and blond arm-candy…
…to break the last, sacred seal — the rules of Beltway party-going…
…to get his own teevee show.The horror.
The horror.
Yes indeed – the horror…
Beyond the basic who, what, where, when, and how of news journalism on your 6 and 11 PM newscast, you are being mislead and not getting the truth. Just stop watching those shows or listening to what passes as news analysis in this country.
Findlayian Creel sings on Tony show
Findlay High School alum Gavin Creel was nominated for a Tony Award as Featured Actor in a musical. He plays Claude in the revival of the musical “Hair”. Creel didn’t win the award on Sunday but the show won Best Revival and he and the cast performed the song “Hair” during the broadcast on CBS. Here is a clip I made of the performance.
*Note – Creel is the guy in the white shirt and red head band who starts the song*
More info:
OMG! Like how did I miss Square Pegs on DVD… like totally
There isn’t much that I am obsessed with in life except for getting some classic TV shows and films from my younger days on DVD. One that I thought I would never see is finally out. Square Pegs was a TV show about high school life that was broadcast on CBS for one season in 1982. The show hit a chord with me and I have nothing but fond memories of it. Until recently memories was all I’ve had. Of course I hate it that I found out seven months AFTER it was released.
It was created by Anne Beatts, who had worked on Saturday Night Live in its early days and the plots centered on Patty Greene (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren Hutchinson (Amy Linker), two awkward teenage girls desperate to fit in at Weemawee High School. Their lives interacted with their friends Marshall Blechtman (John Femia) and Johnny “Slash” Ulasewicz (Merritt Butrick) and with the cool kids Jennifer DiNuccio (Tracy Nelson), the quintessential buxom Valley Girl, her boyfriend Vinnie Pasetta (Jon Caliri), a handsome greaser hood, and LaDonna Fredericks (Claudette Wells) and preppy Muffy B. Tepperman (Jami Gertz).
The show spoke to me because I was in the social place that Patty and Lauren are in. I wanted to be popular and although I didn’t try to be one at all costs like they did, I sympathized with their plight. Cliques in school were not a good thing because for some it causes too much stress at such a young age but this show had a funny take on the topic.
The DVD finally came out when Sarah Jessica Parker’s movie version of “Sex in the City” was released. Except for Parker, Tracy Nelson, and Jami Gertz none of the rest of the cast have done much more than this series. In the Wikipedia entry it even says that the actor who played Vinnie has disappeared off the face of the earth and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Merritt Butrick, who played Johnny, died in 1989 from AIDS. He was also known for playing Capt. Kirk’s son, Dr. David Marcus, in the Star Trek II and III films.
The other note on the DVD issue that is an issue with a lot of the old shows is they stripped out a lot of the pop music due to licence issues. It seems that sometimes the cost of using the music costs more than putting out the DVD so the show owners replace the music with something generic.
All the episodes can also be viewed on the HULU website. “Muffy’s Bat Mitzvah” is one of my favorites, mainly because DEVO makes a guest appearance as the band at the party.