Sean Hannity: EXPOSED!!!
Election Day is less than a week from now (November 2nd), so I decided to do something (today) that I haven't done for quite a while. While driving to a film and then a commercial audition, I listened to Sean Hannity on the radio. Here in Los Angeles, he's on KABC. He's considered to be a pretty big deal because he's on lots of radio stations and he's on television every night. I don't know how well he does in the rest of the country, but his ratings aren't very good here and when you listen to some of the commercials he has, well let me put it this way; "High end" ain't the end he's surrounded with.
Buuut....Because it's close to Election Day, I found myself wondering what Mr. Hannity might be talking about and what angles he might be looking into. He had a couple of pollsters who were on the air and I thought that was a pretty good segment. Yes, his over the top biased way of looking at things is obvious, but it's his show and everyone who listens accepts the "shill" aspect of his act. I'm assuming he still has people like Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich on every couple of days or so. Same deal with Oliver North and a couple of Tea Party female candidates and or future candidates who have as much business being elected to office as I do. Or for that matter, as Hannity does.
But again, it's his show. One of the things Sean Hannity seems to be selling about himself is a kind of squeaky clean persona which is interesting, because a couple of his regulars are anything but that.
I laid a nickname on him some time ago. "Little Lord Fauntleroy". Sean Hannity. Naive and clean. Nothing wrong with that. In a way, an act like that can be charming and make people want to be closer to him. To protect him, if necessary.
And there's nothing wrong with that, either.
But no matter what his image/persona/act is, when he's on the radio, he's a talk show host. By definition, a talk show host has on-air phone conversations with people from time to time.
If you're firing off opinions and never take phone calls, that's one thing. But if you're taking phone calls while giving the impression you're willing to have a conversation with someone who might disagree with you and then you do what I heard Sean Hannity do today, welllll.....
An African American caller came on the air with Hannity and as soon as this man said something Hannity disagreed with, Hannity did something I've heard him do before I quit listening for a long time; He cut him off, talked a bunch of nonsense without addressing the point the caller was trying to make and then went to a minor league commercial of some kind.
You don't have to be an African American to get that kind of on-air treatment from Hannity. In fact, if you're an African American and you agree with Hannity, you'll be on the air with him for quite a while. Same deal if you're white, Latino, whatever. But once you get on the air with him and it's obvious you're disagreeing with him or (worse yet) are about to make him look bad because he's as wrong as he often is, you will be cut off and then, more likely than not, he'll badmouth you and or your ideas while you have no chance to respond.
Conclusion? Talk show host? Not really! A real talk show host who is willing to take calls, gives the caller an opportunity to state his or her case. And keep in mind folks, these calls are screened before they're put on the air.
What I heard today is something I've heard in the past. Something you would expect to hear from a gutless punk.
The Upcoming Election: Before and After!
Am I the only one (besides Tom Brokaw) who has noticed that nothing is being said by these candidates about Afghanistan and Iraq? To me, that's simply another reason to reinstate the draft. People will care about wars we're involved in THEN!!!
Have you heard the talk about some municipalities who are requiring fees for police and fire department services? Translation: If you don't pay the fee, you don't get the service. We're hearing that after the election, more municipalities and maybe your favorite city will be trying to mandate something like this.
No cost of living raises for Social Security recipients for the second straight year. All this talk we're hearing about people who want to mess with Social Security and Medicare makes me wonder if (behind closed doors) some very bright people are trying to figure out a way to get rid of a lot of older folks. I'm sure that would be the result of "accidents" of some kind.
I hope the voters are smarter than the radicals. Especially those voters in Alaska, California, Delaware and Nevada.
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:
If you like a good popcorn film, I recommend, "Red". That's the film with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and a bunch of other veteran actors who have a lot of fun showing us they can still "deliver" in more ways than one.
The new Clint Eastwood film, "Hereafter", will make you think. Matt Damon is terrific in this film.
Because of acting auditions I didn't have a chance to watch as much television as I usually do, but "Dexter" continues to "smoke" as does "Boardwalk Empire", Law & Order: SVU, "Brothers & Sisters" is getting better, but still trying to get back to what they used to be and "The Good Wife" continues to be (for me) the best show on television.
Conan will be back on television soon. An 11 o'clock show (10 Central) on TBS. Am I the only who thinks his commercials have been "missing the mark"? Am I the only one who thinks he's overrated?
Charlie Sheen? Talented basket case, huh?
Do you like poker? Do you watch those poker shows on ESPN and Fox? Do you play the game of hold 'em, but would like some tips on what you should do and or not do?
The October issue of Esquire Magazine listed a few things that were said by a writer named Tom Chiarella who taught a poker class for almost ten years at a university and he has played in the World Series of Poker.
Here are some of the things he recommends that we should do and not do:
"Bet. Bet hard. Poker is a game of courage and reaction. When in doubt, don't call, raise. You'll get a reaction. If someone comes over the top and puts you all in, then you've paid a little to learn a lot."
"Be a bastard. Drive people crazy. When they hate you, you can take advantage."
"Here's a saying: 'When men draw to flushes, they leave Vegas on buses'."
"Shut up. Did someone draw out a runner-runner flush against your set of aces? Get used to it."
THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER DO AT THE POKER TABLE:
Splash the pot.
Ask if it's your turn.
Ask to see a losing hand.
Ask for advice.
Offer advice.
Suggest a round of shots.
Blame the dealer.
That last piece of advice is a tough one, isn't it? I mean who, except the professional players, doesn't blame the dealer from time to time? We know better, but....
QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because if you do, there's no way for me to know your email address which means there's no way for me to respond to you. Again... Write to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I'll respond as quickly as possible. All "anonymous" emails are ignored.
THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, late Wednesday night, November 3rd or early Thursday morning, November 4th.
I hope you all have a very pleasant Halloween this coming Sunday and don't forget to vote next Tuesday.
Buuut....Because it's close to Election Day, I found myself wondering what Mr. Hannity might be talking about and what angles he might be looking into. He had a couple of pollsters who were on the air and I thought that was a pretty good segment. Yes, his over the top biased way of looking at things is obvious, but it's his show and everyone who listens accepts the "shill" aspect of his act. I'm assuming he still has people like Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich on every couple of days or so. Same deal with Oliver North and a couple of Tea Party female candidates and or future candidates who have as much business being elected to office as I do. Or for that matter, as Hannity does.
But again, it's his show. One of the things Sean Hannity seems to be selling about himself is a kind of squeaky clean persona which is interesting, because a couple of his regulars are anything but that.
I laid a nickname on him some time ago. "Little Lord Fauntleroy". Sean Hannity. Naive and clean. Nothing wrong with that. In a way, an act like that can be charming and make people want to be closer to him. To protect him, if necessary.
And there's nothing wrong with that, either.
But no matter what his image/persona/act is, when he's on the radio, he's a talk show host. By definition, a talk show host has on-air phone conversations with people from time to time.
If you're firing off opinions and never take phone calls, that's one thing. But if you're taking phone calls while giving the impression you're willing to have a conversation with someone who might disagree with you and then you do what I heard Sean Hannity do today, welllll.....
An African American caller came on the air with Hannity and as soon as this man said something Hannity disagreed with, Hannity did something I've heard him do before I quit listening for a long time; He cut him off, talked a bunch of nonsense without addressing the point the caller was trying to make and then went to a minor league commercial of some kind.
You don't have to be an African American to get that kind of on-air treatment from Hannity. In fact, if you're an African American and you agree with Hannity, you'll be on the air with him for quite a while. Same deal if you're white, Latino, whatever. But once you get on the air with him and it's obvious you're disagreeing with him or (worse yet) are about to make him look bad because he's as wrong as he often is, you will be cut off and then, more likely than not, he'll badmouth you and or your ideas while you have no chance to respond.
Conclusion? Talk show host? Not really! A real talk show host who is willing to take calls, gives the caller an opportunity to state his or her case. And keep in mind folks, these calls are screened before they're put on the air.
What I heard today is something I've heard in the past. Something you would expect to hear from a gutless punk.
The Upcoming Election: Before and After!
Am I the only one (besides Tom Brokaw) who has noticed that nothing is being said by these candidates about Afghanistan and Iraq? To me, that's simply another reason to reinstate the draft. People will care about wars we're involved in THEN!!!
Have you heard the talk about some municipalities who are requiring fees for police and fire department services? Translation: If you don't pay the fee, you don't get the service. We're hearing that after the election, more municipalities and maybe your favorite city will be trying to mandate something like this.
No cost of living raises for Social Security recipients for the second straight year. All this talk we're hearing about people who want to mess with Social Security and Medicare makes me wonder if (behind closed doors) some very bright people are trying to figure out a way to get rid of a lot of older folks. I'm sure that would be the result of "accidents" of some kind.
I hope the voters are smarter than the radicals. Especially those voters in Alaska, California, Delaware and Nevada.
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:
If you like a good popcorn film, I recommend, "Red". That's the film with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and a bunch of other veteran actors who have a lot of fun showing us they can still "deliver" in more ways than one.
The new Clint Eastwood film, "Hereafter", will make you think. Matt Damon is terrific in this film.
Because of acting auditions I didn't have a chance to watch as much television as I usually do, but "Dexter" continues to "smoke" as does "Boardwalk Empire", Law & Order: SVU, "Brothers & Sisters" is getting better, but still trying to get back to what they used to be and "The Good Wife" continues to be (for me) the best show on television.
Conan will be back on television soon. An 11 o'clock show (10 Central) on TBS. Am I the only who thinks his commercials have been "missing the mark"? Am I the only one who thinks he's overrated?
Charlie Sheen? Talented basket case, huh?
Do you like poker? Do you watch those poker shows on ESPN and Fox? Do you play the game of hold 'em, but would like some tips on what you should do and or not do?
The October issue of Esquire Magazine listed a few things that were said by a writer named Tom Chiarella who taught a poker class for almost ten years at a university and he has played in the World Series of Poker.
Here are some of the things he recommends that we should do and not do:
"Bet. Bet hard. Poker is a game of courage and reaction. When in doubt, don't call, raise. You'll get a reaction. If someone comes over the top and puts you all in, then you've paid a little to learn a lot."
"Be a bastard. Drive people crazy. When they hate you, you can take advantage."
"Here's a saying: 'When men draw to flushes, they leave Vegas on buses'."
"Shut up. Did someone draw out a runner-runner flush against your set of aces? Get used to it."
THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER DO AT THE POKER TABLE:
Splash the pot.
Ask if it's your turn.
Ask to see a losing hand.
Ask for advice.
Offer advice.
Suggest a round of shots.
Blame the dealer.
That last piece of advice is a tough one, isn't it? I mean who, except the professional players, doesn't blame the dealer from time to time? We know better, but....
QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Don't write to the blog because if you do, there's no way for me to know your email address which means there's no way for me to respond to you. Again... Write to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I'll respond as quickly as possible. All "anonymous" emails are ignored.
THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, late Wednesday night, November 3rd or early Thursday morning, November 4th.
I hope you all have a very pleasant Halloween this coming Sunday and don't forget to vote next Tuesday.
posted by Scott St. James at 9:49 PM
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