This Dr. Laura Business Is....!?!?
First of all, I've been having a lot of fun on CRN with owner Mike Horn the last few days. Between 4 and 5 in the afternoon (Pacific Time), we've been talking about lots of things you read in this blog, last Friday, this past Monday and today. I'll be on with actor-director-producer, Harold Sylvester this Friday, 4-5 pm, Pacific Time. CRN can be heard anywhere in the world and if you would like to know how you can hear it where you are, click on to www.CRNi.net and if for some strange reason you can't find the information you need, you can call, 818-352-7152.
Among other things, Harold and I will be talking about his wonderful acting career and we'll also be talking about some new films, Dr. Laura, all the troops that are leaving Iraq, an interesting business that might be built next to the Mosque in New York City that everyone's talking about and whatever the other hot stories of the day are.
Before going to the topic of Dr. Laura, let's share with you a bumper sticker that was sent to me by long time Illinois blog reader, Dave Acocks;
FIGHT ORGANIZED CRIME!! RE-ELECT NO ONE!!
Okay...Dr. Laura.
If you care, you know that some people think she put her foot in her mouth during an on-air conversation she had with an African American woman who is married to a white guy and she wanted some advice from Dr. Laura about some of her (the caller's) husband's friends who were making the caller uncomfortable because of some of the things they said that were racial related. This happened last week. I didn't hear the show, but I heard that Dr. Laura used the "N" word several times during this conversation (11, actually), but I chalked it off to a risky and bad idea because this sounded to me like a conversation that should have taken place behind closed doors.
I thought that way until this past weekend when I read the unedited transcript of what was almost a 7-minute conversation and then when I heard the unedited audio of the conversation, I knew that Dr. Laura had "blown it" and I'm not surprised to hear that when her contract ends at the end of this year, her broadcasting career will apparently end.
As we used to say in the South, "I don't have a dog in the hunt", buuut....this on-air conversation wouldn't have had the end result it had/has if she was as smart as most of her listeners think she is. Because of what ended up happening, she is proven to be not only not very smart, but a legitimate question can be asked regarding the possibility of what's really in her heart having been "exposed".
As a guy who has hosted a lot of talk shows and in fact, recently, been co-hosting some more, I will now tell you how this should have played out and the different "end" reaction we'd be hearing from everyone who heard the show or who talked about what someone told them about that show.
The topic was a great talk show kind of topic. A black woman who is married to a white man wants advice about things that are said by her husband's white friends that are making her uncomfortable, because of the racial slant being taken by her husband's friends.
Trust me, folks. For a talk show host who knows what they're doing, this is whacha call "Gold".
What the experienced talk show host knows is that with a potentially controversial topic/on-air conversation like this one, the talk show host lets-encourages the caller to be the "driver" of this conversation. The talk show host takes the position of being a "traffic cop" while the caller "vents". And as long as the caller "stays on topic", this is the kind of call you can keep on the air for as long as Dr. Laura did and even longer. And if the experienced talk show host handles a controversial call-topic like that, what everybody would be talking about later would be, "Did you hear that great call on Dr. Laura's show about the lady in a mixed marriage?"
Short Commentary: Dr. Laura, I thought you were smarter than that. I remember when you and I were hired by the Gene Autry people to work on KMPC here in 1980 and I filled in for you a couple of times. We all had you pegged to do very well for yourself and you made prophets out of all of us. But what happened a few days ago, showed us one of two things; You either never learned the "let the caller be the driver" rule or somewhere along the way, you decided you were/are omnipotent.
IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN:
As you probably know, just about all of our combat troops have left or are leaving Iraq. In addition to some soldiers staying to help with security issues, we are also providing private contracters, which is not always a good thing, but apparently President Obama didn't learn that while watching what happened during the Bush administration.
Before General David Petraeus took over as commander of our Afghanistan adventure, he assured President Obama that he could accomplish what needed to be accomplished in 18 months. But now that Petraeus is there, he is publicly opposing a rapid pullout. As one columnist wrote, "It kinda makes you wonder who's in charge, doesn't it?"
Here's what I'm wondering....
YO, ALL YOU WAR HAWKS!!! Yeah, YOU!!! The ones who want us to continue with these stupid wars out of one side of your mouths and are demanding that we rein in government spending and quit adding to our "deficit" out of the other side of your mouths!
Do you hawks know that the cost of these wars is adding to the deficit? If you don't want that war money to be added to the deficit, but you DO want these WARS, why aren't you advocating a TAX INCREASE to PAY for these wars?!?
I've said it before and I'll say it again....If these wars are so damn important, reinstate the military draft so that more American citizens are forced to participate in what we are supposed to believe is critical to our national security. And then let the American people know that taxes have to be raised to (finally) PAY for these wars!
Let the American people know that you're about to do these two things and then we'll find out if the American people agree with what the Pentagon and weapons manufacturers believe is so important for our national security.
THE POSSIBLE/PROBABLE MUSLIM MOSQUE NEAR GROUND ZERO:
I understand the concerns of those who lost loved ones on 9/11. And yes, there's no doubt about who those criminals in those airplanes were; Muslims.
Do we believe that all Muslims are bad and that they shouldn't have the right to build houses of worship for themselves? I don't believe that we do, but I do believe we tend to be suspicious of Muslims and we won't stop being suspicious until they stop trying to kill us.
Here's an interesting development that's taking place if indeed this Mosque is finally built where they want it built. Another group of people are trying to get all the legal stuff taken care of so that they can build a business establishment right next to that Mosque. It would be a Gay Bar, designed to appeal to gay Islamic men.
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:
"Thumbs Up" from me regarding two new films.
"The Expendables". I got a real kick out of this film. Sly Stallone wrote, directed and starred in a film that uses up a lot of ammunition while blowing up a lot of stuff and along the way, some pretty good lines are spoken, specifically by Stallone in a remark about California's Governor and in a fun conversation between Stallone and Jason Statham near the end of the film. There is no hidden mystery about what kind of film this is. A lot of older action stars are showing us they still have "the moves" and if you're ready to suspend belief and enjoy your popcorn, you will have a very fun experience at the Cineplex you see this film in.
"Eat, Pray, Love". This is Julia Roberts' new film. It's based on a best selling book. It's 2 hours and 20 minutes long and it is worth every minute of your time in the Cineplex. In addition to Roberts, James Franco, Viola Davis, Richard Jenkins, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem flat out shine in this film. A film that figures to get some Oscar nominations. Besides Roberts getting a best actress nomination, I'm going to guess that Viola Davis, Jenkins and Franco will get serious best supporting actress and actor considerations.
QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS?
Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond as quickly as I can. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know what your email address is so I won't be able to respond. Again... scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will happily respond ASAP. All anonymous emails are ignored.
THE NEXT BLOG?
Barring unforseen circumstances, the next blog will be posted late Wednesday night, August 25 or early Thursday morning, August 26.
Now...Please remember our upcoming election slogan:
FIGHT ORGANIZED CRIME!! RE-ELECT NO ONE!!
Don't forget...If you'd like to hear the radio show I'll be doing on CRN this Friday afternoon between 4 and 5 Pacific Time, click on www.CRNi.net to find out how you can listen to the show. If for some reason you don't get the information you're looking for, call 818-352-7152.
I hope that all of you have a great weekend!
Among other things, Harold and I will be talking about his wonderful acting career and we'll also be talking about some new films, Dr. Laura, all the troops that are leaving Iraq, an interesting business that might be built next to the Mosque in New York City that everyone's talking about and whatever the other hot stories of the day are.
Before going to the topic of Dr. Laura, let's share with you a bumper sticker that was sent to me by long time Illinois blog reader, Dave Acocks;
FIGHT ORGANIZED CRIME!! RE-ELECT NO ONE!!
Okay...Dr. Laura.
If you care, you know that some people think she put her foot in her mouth during an on-air conversation she had with an African American woman who is married to a white guy and she wanted some advice from Dr. Laura about some of her (the caller's) husband's friends who were making the caller uncomfortable because of some of the things they said that were racial related. This happened last week. I didn't hear the show, but I heard that Dr. Laura used the "N" word several times during this conversation (11, actually), but I chalked it off to a risky and bad idea because this sounded to me like a conversation that should have taken place behind closed doors.
I thought that way until this past weekend when I read the unedited transcript of what was almost a 7-minute conversation and then when I heard the unedited audio of the conversation, I knew that Dr. Laura had "blown it" and I'm not surprised to hear that when her contract ends at the end of this year, her broadcasting career will apparently end.
As we used to say in the South, "I don't have a dog in the hunt", buuut....this on-air conversation wouldn't have had the end result it had/has if she was as smart as most of her listeners think she is. Because of what ended up happening, she is proven to be not only not very smart, but a legitimate question can be asked regarding the possibility of what's really in her heart having been "exposed".
As a guy who has hosted a lot of talk shows and in fact, recently, been co-hosting some more, I will now tell you how this should have played out and the different "end" reaction we'd be hearing from everyone who heard the show or who talked about what someone told them about that show.
The topic was a great talk show kind of topic. A black woman who is married to a white man wants advice about things that are said by her husband's white friends that are making her uncomfortable, because of the racial slant being taken by her husband's friends.
Trust me, folks. For a talk show host who knows what they're doing, this is whacha call "Gold".
What the experienced talk show host knows is that with a potentially controversial topic/on-air conversation like this one, the talk show host lets-encourages the caller to be the "driver" of this conversation. The talk show host takes the position of being a "traffic cop" while the caller "vents". And as long as the caller "stays on topic", this is the kind of call you can keep on the air for as long as Dr. Laura did and even longer. And if the experienced talk show host handles a controversial call-topic like that, what everybody would be talking about later would be, "Did you hear that great call on Dr. Laura's show about the lady in a mixed marriage?"
Short Commentary: Dr. Laura, I thought you were smarter than that. I remember when you and I were hired by the Gene Autry people to work on KMPC here in 1980 and I filled in for you a couple of times. We all had you pegged to do very well for yourself and you made prophets out of all of us. But what happened a few days ago, showed us one of two things; You either never learned the "let the caller be the driver" rule or somewhere along the way, you decided you were/are omnipotent.
IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN:
As you probably know, just about all of our combat troops have left or are leaving Iraq. In addition to some soldiers staying to help with security issues, we are also providing private contracters, which is not always a good thing, but apparently President Obama didn't learn that while watching what happened during the Bush administration.
Before General David Petraeus took over as commander of our Afghanistan adventure, he assured President Obama that he could accomplish what needed to be accomplished in 18 months. But now that Petraeus is there, he is publicly opposing a rapid pullout. As one columnist wrote, "It kinda makes you wonder who's in charge, doesn't it?"
Here's what I'm wondering....
YO, ALL YOU WAR HAWKS!!! Yeah, YOU!!! The ones who want us to continue with these stupid wars out of one side of your mouths and are demanding that we rein in government spending and quit adding to our "deficit" out of the other side of your mouths!
Do you hawks know that the cost of these wars is adding to the deficit? If you don't want that war money to be added to the deficit, but you DO want these WARS, why aren't you advocating a TAX INCREASE to PAY for these wars?!?
I've said it before and I'll say it again....If these wars are so damn important, reinstate the military draft so that more American citizens are forced to participate in what we are supposed to believe is critical to our national security. And then let the American people know that taxes have to be raised to (finally) PAY for these wars!
Let the American people know that you're about to do these two things and then we'll find out if the American people agree with what the Pentagon and weapons manufacturers believe is so important for our national security.
THE POSSIBLE/PROBABLE MUSLIM MOSQUE NEAR GROUND ZERO:
I understand the concerns of those who lost loved ones on 9/11. And yes, there's no doubt about who those criminals in those airplanes were; Muslims.
Do we believe that all Muslims are bad and that they shouldn't have the right to build houses of worship for themselves? I don't believe that we do, but I do believe we tend to be suspicious of Muslims and we won't stop being suspicious until they stop trying to kill us.
Here's an interesting development that's taking place if indeed this Mosque is finally built where they want it built. Another group of people are trying to get all the legal stuff taken care of so that they can build a business establishment right next to that Mosque. It would be a Gay Bar, designed to appeal to gay Islamic men.
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:
"Thumbs Up" from me regarding two new films.
"The Expendables". I got a real kick out of this film. Sly Stallone wrote, directed and starred in a film that uses up a lot of ammunition while blowing up a lot of stuff and along the way, some pretty good lines are spoken, specifically by Stallone in a remark about California's Governor and in a fun conversation between Stallone and Jason Statham near the end of the film. There is no hidden mystery about what kind of film this is. A lot of older action stars are showing us they still have "the moves" and if you're ready to suspend belief and enjoy your popcorn, you will have a very fun experience at the Cineplex you see this film in.
"Eat, Pray, Love". This is Julia Roberts' new film. It's based on a best selling book. It's 2 hours and 20 minutes long and it is worth every minute of your time in the Cineplex. In addition to Roberts, James Franco, Viola Davis, Richard Jenkins, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem flat out shine in this film. A film that figures to get some Oscar nominations. Besides Roberts getting a best actress nomination, I'm going to guess that Viola Davis, Jenkins and Franco will get serious best supporting actress and actor considerations.
QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS?
Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond as quickly as I can. Don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know what your email address is so I won't be able to respond. Again... scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will happily respond ASAP. All anonymous emails are ignored.
THE NEXT BLOG?
Barring unforseen circumstances, the next blog will be posted late Wednesday night, August 25 or early Thursday morning, August 26.
Now...Please remember our upcoming election slogan:
FIGHT ORGANIZED CRIME!! RE-ELECT NO ONE!!
Don't forget...If you'd like to hear the radio show I'll be doing on CRN this Friday afternoon between 4 and 5 Pacific Time, click on www.CRNi.net to find out how you can listen to the show. If for some reason you don't get the information you're looking for, call 818-352-7152.
I hope that all of you have a great weekend!
posted by Scott St. James at 7:40 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home