Wednesday, October 27, 2010

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.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Guns, Gays & God!!!

The big election will take place less than two weeks from now. Tuesday, November 2nd, to be exact.

All the experts are telling us that this will be a good election for Republicans. And a lot of people are suggesting that it will be a good election for Republicans because of the Tea Party's involvement in it.

Most folks are predicting that when the election is over, Republicans will be the majority party in the House and they have an outside chance of becoming the majority party in the Senate.

If either of those things happen, it will be because a lot of people don't think that President Obama and the Democrats have done a good job. In fact, a lot of people are expressing the belief that he and they have been doing a lousy job.

But let's go back to the Tea Party for a minute. Long time readers of this blog know that I have written my feeling(s) of admiration for the "getting involved" aspect of what they've been doing. And to those Tea Party people who have said (in essence), it's time to replace ALL of the "incumbents", the position here is that I tend to agree with them.

But recently, there have been some subjects that some of the loud Tea Party folks have focused on that make me say, "Whaaaat?!?" and "Why?!?"

And I'm not the only one wondering about this. So is one of the early Tea Party leaders and what he is saying and I'm agreeing with is that complaining about fear regarding guns being taken away, gay marriage or gays in the military or gays in general and demanding more of a "God" and "religion" official presence in our government is not what we, the Tea Party people were originally about.

Here's the deal, gang. I'm going to address all three of those arguments.

GUNS: Anyone who comes to my front door sees a circular sticker stuck at eye-level and what that sticker says is, "Member, National Rifle Association". That's usually all it takes to keep people from knocking on my door. If someone knocks or doesn't knock and breaks into my home? He better hope I'm not there, because if I am, a 12-gauge shotgun will be staring at him and if he does something stupid, I'm pointing at his gut.

Gang, all these silly rumors about our guns being taken away by our government is baloney with a CAPITAL "B"! These are rumors started by people who don't like Obama. Period! Gang, no one but no one, is going to take away our guns. Remember what Charelton Heston said about that? I'm the same way.

GAYS: I've told the story before about how I used to feel about gays. Back then, they were known as "queers". I was a very young man when I was in the military. Gays in the miltary? Fuh-git-about-it!!! Oh, I'm sure there were gays in the military, then. I vaguely remember some guys thinking they knew that one of the soldiers in our living quarters was gay (queer) and they made life a little miserable for that guy. At that time, that was how most folks felt about queers.

Now that I've gotten older, the passage of time has taught me that gay folks simply want the same things the rest of us want. To be loved, have a decent job and to share in the American Dream. Are there bad gay people? Of course there are. Just like there are bad straight people.

And for those of you who think that being gay is a "Lifestyle Choice?" You're wrong. They are born gay the same way you were born straight. Or (depending on who's reading this) vice-versa.

Gays in the military? The vast majority of people who are in the military now are people who socialized with gay people in school and on the job just like they socialized and worked on the job with different races. People who think there would be a problem if the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was eliminated are (to me) people like very old Generals who are clueless.

Gang, worrying about gays is a waste of time. As is worrying about guns. We have much bigger "fish to fry" while we try to climb out of this "economic ditch" we're in.

GOD: Here's a news-flash, gang. Our Constitution never once mentions God or Jesus. People like the "Mama Grizzly" crowd or highly publicized talk show hosts who mostly talk to hear their heads roar, are people who make a lot of noise about our country and religion and how the two should officially be meshed together more and if that happened, we'd all be so much the better for it.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!

There's a reason we have a separation between Church and State. A damn good reason.

Don't believe me? RELIGION IS A VERY BIG PART OF HOW ISLAMIC COUNTRIES ARE RUN!!!

Tea Party, Tea Party, Tea Party....You're onto something with your activism. A big something! And I'm rooting for a lot of what you're trying to accomplish. You talk a lot about our Constitution. Unfortunately, you have a few of your high profile members who don't know what they're talking about, but because they're loud they get a lot of publicity.

Conclusion: Nobody is going to or trying to take away your guns. Gays bleed the same blood you and I bleed. The Church and State are separate for a very good reason.

NOW GET BACK OUT THERE AND KICK SOME MORE POLITICAL ASS!!!

And speaking of Islam...

You've probably heard the story about Juan Williams, the long time broadcaster and writer who was fired by NPR after saying people wearing Muslim garb on airplanes make him nervous.

Wellll....No one can fire ME, but even if they could, I would say, without hesitation, I agree with Juan Williams. In fact, I've had it "up to here" with people who come here from other countries thinking they can run roughshod over our country with stunts the likes of which Juan Williams described. And they are stunts! They don't have to dress like that on American airplanes. You come to our country, you need to be willing to blend IN to our country. We should be required to blend in with YOU!!! And once again....Why in the hell do we have to push "1", if we speak English?!?

One more Muslim item.....You've probably read or heard about that psychiatrist who is a U.S. Army Major who also happens to be a Muslim who opened fire and killed a lot of unarmed American soldiers and seriously injured many others before HE was finally shot and arrested. Well, he's been in a military courtroom the last few days while witnesses told their horror stories about this Muslim terrorist who apparently did what he did because he was upset about Muslims who had been killed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This is not a JFK kill-story where we wonder if in fact Lee Harvey Oswald was a convenient stooge while the real killer or killers got away.

There is absolutely no question about what this Muslim terrorist did. And with that in mind, I can't help but wonder how much money we could save by having none of these courtroom conversations, no trial at all and just take that sorry son of a bitch to a tree and hang his pathetic ass.

BACK TO THE NOVEMBER 2nd ELECTIONS FOR A MINUTE:

As I've tried to point out in this blog, our main problems right now aren't gun issues, gay issues or God issues. Our number ONE problem is employment. Anything else that's big time important is a distant second.

Here in California, we have a couple of very rich women who have entered the political arena for the first time. Nothing wrong with them being rich. Nothing wrong with them being women.

They're both Republicans and there's nothing wrong with that, either.

Meg Whitman wants to be California's next Governor. Carly Fiorina wants to have the Senate seat that is currently held by Barbara Boxer.

Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina have spent a lot of money on campaign advertising. Nothing wrong with spending a lot of money. Ain't nothin' cheap about running for office.

Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina both claim that if we elect THEM, they'll get us all a bunch of new jobs.

Well, if you're running for office and you want to win, that's what you should be telling us. In fact, that's what Barack Obama should have been telling us (and doing it), but that's another story.

Back to Whitman and Fiorina. They're going to get us jobs if they get elected?

Hmmmm.....

A little while ago, Carly Fiorina was a big time executive. I mean, BIG time executive. Before she left that company she was the big deal at, Carly Fiorina OUTSOURCED thousands of jobs to foreign countries. THOUSANDS of jobs outsourced which put THOUSANDS of AMERICANS out of work! And she was given a 45 million dollar bonus for that.

A little while ago, Meg Whitman was a big time executive. A BIG time executive. In fact, she was SO big, she never had time to vote. I'm not making that up. Never voted. But wants US to vote for HER! Anyway, before Meg Whitman left that company she was the big deal at, she OUTSOURCED thousands of jobs to foreign countries. THOUSANDS of jobs outsourced which put THOUSANDS of AMERICANS out of work! And Meg Whitman was given a bonus of more than A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS for doing that to all those Americans.

And I say to you voters, why would you want to vote for EITHER of those two people?

One of my readers defends those two women by telling me (in essence) that they were at the mercy of "board members" who wanted to do all that outsourcing.

And my response to that is that both of these rich and powerful women were in a great position to embarrass the hell out of those board members by publicly REFUSING to outsource ANY American worker's job.

I mean, that's what a LEADER would do if that's what they believed in.

And now they're saying that if we vote for them and they get elected, their "leadership" will get us all a bunch of new jobs?!?

Uh, huh. Remember that old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you? Fool me twice, shame on me"?

And (again) I say to you voters, why would you want to vote for EITHER of those two people?

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Mel Gibson won't be doing that role he was booked to do in the upcoming film, "Hangover Two". We're told that a number of people involved with the film expressed loud negative reactions about Mel Gibson having anything to do with the film and the director and studio said, in essence, "Your wish has been granted!"

The new Clint Eastwood film that stars Matt Damon goes into wide release tomorrow (Friday) and I intend to see it. I'll tell you what I think of it in the next blog.

Television notes: I finally saw the new William Shatner sitcom, "Bleep, My Dad Says". I laughed a few times. Like "Old man River", William Shatner just keeps rolling along.

After the first few episodes, I think this might turn out to be the best ever season of "Dexter".

"Brothers & Sisters" did a great job this past Sunday in the way they gave Emily VanCamp, the actress who plays "Rebecca", a very nice way to leave the show. This was Van Camp's last appearance. At least for now.

Wednesday night's "Law & Order, SVU" ended up being a tear jerker. Especially at the end. This show is having it's best season ever, quality wise.

Tuesday night's "The Good Wife" was (again) off the charts terrific. I think a new "pain in the ass" character for "The Good Wife" is an actress who's mother is Meryl Streep. If I'm right, I'm not going to say I think she's as good as her mother, but she is damn good and it'll be interesting to see if we'll be allowed to see more of her. This is such a good show!!!

New episode of "Glee" next Tuesday! Yay!

BASEBALL PLAYOFFS: As of this moment, the Rangers lead the Yankees, three games to two and the next two games, if necessary, will be played at Texas. The Giants lead the Phils, three games to two and the next two games, if necessary, will be played at Philadelphia. The winners will end up playing each other in the World Series. At the risk of sounding like a front runner, I'm picking the Rangers and the Giants. I actually picked the Rangers before their series began. I didn't make a pick in the Giants-Phils series. All I said was that because of both teams' starting pitching, I wouldn't be surprised if either team won.

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 there's no way for me to know your email address so I won't be able to respond to you. Again... scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond as quickly as possible. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Well, I was a day late this week because of an early morning film audition so unless something unforseen comes up, the next blog will be posted late Wednesday night, October 27 or early Thursday morning, October 28.

I hope that you all have a GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Because Of An Early Thursday Morning Film Audition, This Week's Blog Will Be Posted Thursday Afternoon or Evening!!!

Hi Gang!

This falls under the category of one of those "something unforseen" things.

An early Thursday (tomorrow) morning film audition is causing me to have to do some serious studying and not write the weekly blog until tomorrow afternoon which means it will be posted late tomorrow afternoon or early tomorrow evening.

Please wish me luck. The character I'll be auditioning for is an old cranky guy in a hospital who farts a lot. Despite his cranky-ness, the nurse who's taking care of him, adores him, farts and all.

Among other things in tomorrow's blog will be thoughts about the upcoming election, an election day that most folks feel will benefit Republicans and Tea Party candidates.

I will have thoughts about two high profile candidates who (in my opinion) deserve no votes from anyone unless they're very, very rich.

I will also point something out to the Mama Grizzly crowd about religion they continue to be very wrong about.

Annnd....Thoughts about what I think is an unnecessary murder trial....The sudden big hike in gas prices...Is it possible that the war in Afghanistan will end soon?....In order to raise much needed money for cities that are going broke, are we about to see citizens having to pay fees for fire and police protection and if they don't pay, they won't get that protection?....And are older Americans about to be targeted in ways that will make them "give up" which is what those behind the targeting are hoping for?....And if you're a poker player (hold 'em your game?), I'll give you some advice from an expert that might be helpful.

All the above and more, tomorrow afternoon or evening, October 21st.

Thanks for your patience.

Scott, "The Jammer with the Hammer", St. James

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A World War II Veteran Has A Few Things To Say About Karl Rove And The People He Supports!!!

Hi Gang!

The World War II veteran I'm referring to is Bill Mouzis, a decorated soldier who fought for our country and then, not long after he returned to being a "citizen", he was on his way to becoming a radio legend. Anyone who was anyone in Los Angeles radio knows or knew who Bill Mouzis was. A legendary engineer-production whiz at 93/KHJ and after that, he spun his magic at 710/KMPC, "The Station of the Stars", a station I had the pleasure of working at three different times. Yes, that was the station that was owned by the VERY legendary, Gene Autry.

Because I know that many people who read this blog are people who often disagree with me, let me eliminate a couple of things you might think about Bill Mouzis while you're reading his commentary. Don't think for a minute that Mr. Mouzis is a soft-headed guy who probably would like to have everybody's guns' taken away. Mr. Mouzis knows how to use a gun and he believes in the 2nd Amendment. And because of some of what he writes in this commentary, don't think for one minute he has something against our country having a strong defense. Mr. Mouzis fought in World War II.

Before you see the commentary Mr. Mouzis wrote, let me preface what he has written by telling you that the deregulation of the financial services industry in the 80's (thank you, Mr. Reagan) and the 90's (thank you, Mr. Clinton), the real estate "bubble" (thank you, Mr. Bush), people going crazy with credit cards thinking they had "free money", (cash advances which began under Mr. Reagan) and the overall letting banks and financial institutions being virtually un-checked (thank you Mr. Reagan, Mr. Clinton and Mr. Bush) led to what we're facing now. Which is a first class mess because no one, but no one saw it coming. That "free money" we thought we were getting was addictive, bankruptcy lawyers are getting richer and the rest of us have that "what happened?" look on our faces.

Okay. I've given you the set-up. Here's the commentary from Bill Mouzis.


So we hear repeatedly today about turning the Democrats out in the upcoming election and turning around the economy.

I say, turning it around to what? The Bush years that henchmen like Karl Rove are wanting us to return to? The same Rove who said that all he wanted before Bush was elected was four years and that is all they would need to make the changes they wanted. The same Rove who is coming at us now under the banner of The Tea Party?

Let me see if I can recall some of the changes Rove concocted and implemented.

(a) A balanced budget becoming so unbalanced it literally bankrupted our country.

(b) A tax break for the very rich who do not even comprehend what the trickle-down policy is all about as they hoard their wealth.

(c) The other 96% of the wealthy who do understand the trickle-down policy and insist it works. Yep, we know for whom - certainly not for the people or small businesses.

(d) No prosecution of employers hiring illegal immigrants with no suitable protection of our borders and no apparent concern for the security of our country.

(e) No effective monitoring of the banking, investment and insurance industries that have literally thrown millions of people out of their homes and no curtailment of ever-increasing medical costs imposed by doctors and hospitals.

(f) No effective monitoring of Wall Street which resulted in one of the greatest crises in the history of our country and banks that were gift wrapped billions of dollars of taxpayer money to keep them in solvency. Also the vast amounts lost by investors in the stock market.

(g) Unemployment at heights mirroring that of the Great Depression with no signs of curtailing overseas employment that has stripped American citizens of the right to earn an affordable living under the free enterprise system.

(h) The war-mongering corporations who want us to remain in Iraq and Afghanistan to enrich their treasuries without any concern for American lives sacrificed.

Overall, the resultant effect of the Bush, Cheney and Rove leadership was deadly to the core with unemployment rates at record heights along with the millions who lost their homes and jobs. All this without even a health plan to rely on. Obviously this is what Rove and his cozy conspirator politicians mean when they continue to spout off about turning the economy around. They simply want it back to what it WAS!!! Hopefully, the American people will see the picture clearly this time and not make the same mistake it made ten years ago in electing George W. Bush. It may be recovering too slow for comfort right now but damage of the kind left behind takes time to repair and correct. I am confident though it will be done now that the President has taken the position of not relying solely on Congress and finally involving himself more individually. Hopefully the public will not make the wrong decisions in this critical time in our recovery. The Democrats are not perfect by any means but their faults pale in comparison with the greedy conniving right wing of our government.

In closing, I will repeat what I have said many times....

For the right to participate in the free enterprise system comes the grave responsibility of also serving and/or supporting our society as a whole, namely those not capable of making a survivable living in such a competitive world. This is the price we pay for a democratic form of government and this is something the corrupt entities and politicians in our country have never understood.

Again...All that you just finished reading is a commentary that was written by World War II warrior and L.A. radio legend, Bill Mouzis.

Thanks, Bill.

If you would like to make a comment about what Mr. Mouzis wrote and or what I wrote before showing you Mr. Mouzis's commentary, write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. I read everything that's sent to me unless it's sent to me "anonymously". If you would like your response to be printed but without your name being included, I will be happy to do that.

Tip of the Cap:

How about that rescue job on behalf of those miners in Chile? Bravo, bravo, bravo!!!

Sports items:

Should we really care about what the Minnesota Vikings quarterback did or didn't send to the Playboy model/cheerleader/sex symbol?

The Yankees will play the Rangers and the Giants will play the Phillies in two championship series' that will determine which teams will end up in the World Series. My choices are the Rangers and the Phillies, but a Giants win wouldn't shock me because of their pitching.

Personal item:

I will be on CRN again this Friday afternoon from 4-5, Pacific Time. My co-host will be my long time friend, Harold Sylvester who is also a very fine actor, writer, producer and director. We'll have movie reviews, pro football picks and conversation about whatever is hot in the political arena or whatever else we think is hot. If you'd like to check us out, all you have to do is click onto www.CRNtalk.com.

Entertainment stuff:

I think the new Clint Eastwood film that stars Matt Damon opens this Friday and I plan to see it. I think the new film, "Red", starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and a lot of other "veteran" actors will open this Friday as well. That's another film I plan to see.

Coming soon will be the film, "Fair Game", starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. It's the story of former CIA agent, Valerie Plame-Wilson and her husband, Joe Wilson. Valerie was an undercover CIA agent who seems to have been "outed" by members of the Bush administration because they were ticked off at her husband. Scooter Libby ended up being the only one who was convicted of anything and Vice President Cheney was very disappointed/annoyed that President Bush didn't end up giving a "Pardon" to Libby. We'll probably never know the truth if I'm right, but in my heart of hearts I believe that a former boss of the CIA, a guy who also happens to have been a Vice President, President and the father of George W. Bush is the reason that George W. Bush didn't give Libby that "Pardon". And I will also always wonder if Karl Rove is very lucky he didn't end up in jail for what happened. And Rove, if he had anything to do with the "outing" of Agent Plame, is lucky he wasn't involved back when what he might have done was a firing squad offense.

As far as television goes, a new show I like has been cancelled already. "Outlaw", starring Jimmy Smits. This is a show that's been shown on Friday nights at 10, Pacific Time on NBC, but beginning immediately, the four unseen episodes of that show will be shown on Saturday nights.

"Brothers & Sisters" seems to be slowly getting it's groove back.

"The Event", Tuesday nights at 9, Pacific Time on NBC is a thriller of the first order. Jason Ritter is the star of this show and he's doing a terrific job. Jason Ritter also happens to be the son of former big time television star, John and the grandson of former Cowboy movie star and Country music star, Tex.

"Glee" just seems to outdo itself week after week.

"The Good Wife" is to me, the best show on television.

Television producer Dick Wolf is on fire right now. His "Law & Order, SVU" and "Law & Order, L.A." shows are hot, hot, hot. Especially his "SVU" show.

THOUGHTS AND OR COMMENTS? Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you ASAP. Please don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address which means I won't be able to respond to you. Again... scottstjames@sbcglobal.net All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring something unforseen, late Wednesday night, October 20 or early Thursday morning, October 21.

I hope that all of you have a great rest of the week and an interesting weekend.

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

IF OBAMA DECIDES TO RUN AGAIN, WILL HIS NEW RUNNING MATE BE HILLARY? If so, what happens to Joe Biden?

I start this week's blog with questions and yes, I have answers.

But first....I'll be on CRN radio again this Friday afternoon (with Mike Horn) from 4-5, Pacific Time. The show will be repeated throughout the weekend. You'll get expert opinions from movie critics about new films, expert opinions from a pro-football handicapper while Mike and I give our UN-professional picks and we'll also be talking about a couple of things that I'll be writing about in this blog. If you'd like to check us out this Friday, click on www.CRNTalk.com

One other sports item....The baseball playoffs began today. When I first started at CRN more than two months ago, I was asked which teams I thought would end up in the World Series this year. My choices were Texas and Atlanta. Both teams are in the playoffs and I'll stick with those picks to get to the World Series, but I would imagine that most folks might be thinking that Philadelphia and Minnesota would be two better picks than my picks.

We shall see what we shall see.

Back to President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton.

More than two months ago, regular readers of this blog saw a hot and heavy rumor that seemed to have some fire associated with the smoke, if you catch my drift.

And the rumor was this; If President Obama decides to run for a second term, he will have a new running mate. Hillary Clinton. If that were to happen, the obvious question is, "What happens to Vice President Joe Biden?" And the answer is (according to the rumor), Joe Biden would become Secretary of State and a very big deal kind of library would be built with his name on it.

When I wrote about this rumor, I felt that what was being "thrown out there" was more than possible. And if President Obama does indeed decide to run for a second term, I think the change is running mates make sense. Especially this running mate, Hillary Clinton.

To me, Joe Biden is exactly what President Obama needed to help him get elected the first time. And while it's easy for some folks to make fun of Biden, those of us who pay close attention know that he has been more of a "positive" than a "negative". And because he's the classic "team player", I think that if this is presented to him (if it hasn't been already), he will be "on board" without blinking.

After I wrote about this two or so months ago, I didn't hear anything else about it until yesterday. When big time reporter and author Bob Woodward said (in essence) that he believes this could and or will happen. And now this is a big story, which of course everyone in the White House is denying. As is Hillary Clinton.

As we all know, political folks have been known to "change their minds". As we all know, political folks have been known to look us in the eye and fib to us, haven't they, Meg Whitman.

If this happens and Obama were to win again, more history will have been made because Hillary Clinton would then be our first female Vice Presdent. And when Obama's second term ended, Hillary Clinton would then be in the position of possibly being our first female President!

And yes, that sound I'm now hearing is a sound I recognize and can identify; It's a whole bunch of you throwing up.

I know there's something else that's going on as well. And I can't hear it because smiles are silent.

Thoughts and or comments about the Obama-Clinton-Biden possibility? Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net


Fox Boss RUPERT MURDOCH and his SUPPORT of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS:

Have you heard about THIS?!? In case you didn't know, Rupert Murdoch has (for many years) been the "boss hoss" of all those opinionated TV talkshow hosts who surround themselves with corporate bought and paid for politicians and every one of them tells their viewers about what a huge problem they think the illegal immigration situation is. You long time readers know what i think of the illegal immigration situation. More times than not, I agree totally with what the Fox hosts say about this problem.

And without thinking about it, I think it's safe to say that all of us would assume that Rupert Murdoch would agree with his employees and vice versa.

Surprise, surprise. A few days ago. while the very rich Rupert Murdoch was sitting or standing next to the very rich Mayor of New York, Murdoch let everyone know that he's (in essence) in favor of some kind of amnesty for illegal immigrants. We already knew that the very rich Mayor of New York felt (feels) that way.

I've said and written it before and I'll say and write it again; If the rich and powerful were to decide that they wanted all the illegal immigrants deported, it would take some time to happen, but it WOULD happen.

Conversely, if the rich and powerful were to decide they wanted all illegal immigrants to be given some kind of amnesty, it would take some time, but it WOULD happen.

Gang, the rich and the powerful LOVE having all these illegal immigrants here. It's the rich and powerful's NEW SLAVERY!!!

Illinois reader Dave Acocks is very concerned (as am I) about the illegal immigration situation and he has written the following note:

"Maybe since they seem to believe that we should have open borders and give amnesty to all illegal immigrants as well as open our borders to all who would come, just maybe Rupert Murdoch and his cronies would like to start picking up the whole tab for all of these instances...After all, they are the ones who think those poor under-privileged people from other countries deserve to come here and be provided for by the "legal tax paying citizens of this country", aren't they? Then that being the case, why don't we make laws forcing Rupert Murdoch and his pre-illegal immigrant cronies to pick up the tab for all of them and we will take care of our own LEGAL citizens who fall into the under-privileged and or fallen on hard times categories!!!??? I'd support that vote!

Sincerely, Dave Acocks.

So would I, Brother Dave. So would I!

And while you chew on the Rupert Murdoch-Fox-illegal immigration argument...

Here come two more written observations about two different subjects. "The Tea Party People" and "High Finance Corruption".

The "Tea Party" observation comes from the October 11 issue of Time Magazine and here it is:

One has to wonder: Where were the Tea Partyers when Bush and Cheney lied to get us into the Iraq war? Where were they when Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib tarnished our reputation worldwide? And where were they when Republicans' trickle-down economic policy in the first eight years of this century ground our economy into the dirt? Now all of a sudden, after Obama has been trying to clean up the mess in less than two years in office, they are "fed up", want to "restore honor" and want their voices heard?

The "High Finance Corruption" observation comes from the October 11 issue of Newsweek Magazine and here it is:

It's often argued that proving criminal-fraud cases in finance is difficult. That's true, but when the government gets serious, it finds a way to get the information it needs. Prosecutors could also go after bankers' personal foibles, forcing lower-level personnel to choose between testimony or jail time. That's how investigators have crippled organized crime. Unfortunately, no one has yet shown the same enthusiasm for policing Wall Street.


ENTERTAINMENT STUFF:

Two old films, one 1-year old film, six television shows and one new film!

The first of the two old films I saw within this past week was 1967's award winning, "Bonnie and Clyde". It was the first time I had seen this film since 1967 and I'm happy to say that the film "holds up". I saw it on TCM which is where I also saw, "Badlands", a 1973 film I had never seen. Wow! Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek play two outlaws on the run in a film that was based on a true story.

The 1-year old film I saw (on STARZ) was, "Armored", a film headlined by Matt Dillon and an outstanding supporting cast. This is an action packed story about an armored car robbery that doesn't go as well as expected. This film is being shown a lot on STARZ, and if you like a good popcorn film, I think you'll enjoy, "Armored".

I liked the new "Law & Order, L.A.", I think "Law & Order, Special Victims Unit" is better than it has ever been, I like the Jimmy Smits show, "Outlaw", but that show needs better ratings or it will become an early casualty, after seeing the second episode of "Dexter", it looks like that show has it's "groove" back, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" is still trying to get their "groove" back and then there's....

"GLEE" Tuesday night on Fox. I mean, this show just gets better and better and better...
The show they did last night about religion was wonderful!!!

"THE GOOD WIFE" Tuesday night on CBS. The episode that aired last night is the kind of episode we looked forward to seeing week after week after week last season. I mean, that Army lawyer who had been awarded the Silver Star was big time believable. The whole episode was off the charts terrific!


"THE SOCIAL NETWORK" This is that movie about Facebook. The reviews have been terrific. I saw it a couple of days ago and LOVED it!!!

Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay. I've always liked his writing.

David Fincher did an outstanding job of directing.

The three main actors were OUTSTANDING!!! Jesse Eisenberg, take a bow! Andrew Garfield, take a bow! Justin Timberlake, take a bow! The rest of you fine supporting actors, take a bow!

I think Oscar nomination possibilites are for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Justin Timberlake and it wouldn't surprise me if Best Actor nominations went to both Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield.

Garfield is about to be the new "Spiderman" and I loved his work in "Never Let Me Go". Jesse Eisenberg looks like he'll be around for a long time. And I think the sky's the limit for Justin Timberlake.

QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS? Write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will write back ASAP. Please don't write to the blog because there's no way for me to know your email address so that means I wouldn't be able to respond to you. Again... scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will write back as quickly as possible. All "Anonymous" emails are ignored.

THE NEXT BLOG? Barring unforseen circumstances, Wednesday night, October 13 or early Thursday morning, October 14.

A reminder...I'll be on CRN with Mike Horn this Friday afternoon from 4-5, Pacific Time and throughout the weekend. You can check us out by clicking on www.CRNTalk.com

I hope that you and yours have a great rest of the week, a fun weekend and if you have the day off next Monday, Happy Columbus Day to ya!!!