Comcast and NFL Network Delay Divorce
With only a few hou
rs to go on an expiring contract, the NFL Network and Comcast have agreed to not allow the football network to go off the air tonight at midnight. The two sides have been battling for the past couple years. The Philadelphia Inquirer just printed this statement online:
“Comcast and the NFL are engaged in productive discussions toward a new agreement for NFL Network carriage on Comcast. NFL Network will continue to be carried on Comcast systems past tonight’s scheduled expiration of the current contract while both sides continue these productive discussions. We are both working to find a solution that works for NFL fans and Comcast’s customers.”
The NFL had been contesting Comcast’s extra monthly charge for a “sports package” that includes NHL, NBA, and more channels. The League, and this subscriber, felt that the cable giant should include the programming in it’s already excessive (my opinion) rates. Read more »
Swine Flu Debate: Would YOU Travel?
The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the swine flu a pandemic. That’s technical speak for not good. More American states are repo
rting cases daily.
Not surprisingly, Vice President Joe Biden, who never wore a shoe he didn’t like to eat, went on television and explained that the policy for his family is quite different than the ones put in place by the White House. While politicians regularly fail to live according to the rules they create, it’s not everyday one of these knuckleheads openly admits their double standards.
Biden says his family shouldn’t put themselves into confined spaces including airplanes and subways. Not that the VP would want to scare people or anything. I have a question for Mr. Biden. Are you dumb in any other areas? There’s also the irony that Biden spent half the campaign railing about how he would always take the subway home to be with his kids at night.
My family has been planning a trip this month. On a plane. According to the VP, traveling to work just became dangerous for millions of urban commuters. Should I fly? Should you?
Let’s hear what you have to say on this topic. Will you travel on planes and subway trains during the scare? What about sporting events, movie theaters, or churches? Still eating bacon? Where do you draw the line?
What precautions will YOU take against the swine flu? Subscribe to my feed or you can click here to receive posts via email.
The Arlen Specter Blah Blah
Arlen Specter is now a democrat. Big deal.
The only surprising aspect of this move is that the Pennsylvania senator is pretending his decision has something to do with personal values. Now my mama always said not to judge other people, so you might think I’m being rough on the nouveau democrat. The problem is that mama also said “don’t be an idiot.”
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| At least one Nittany Lion has had enough |
Specter says the republican party left him as he waxed nostalgic over the good old Reagan days. Anybody who hasn’t had their head up Al Gore’s derriere for the past six years can tell you the republicans have moved closer to the democratic party. Reagan’s republican party saw their leader win 49 states. Specter’s republican party managed to throw up all over itself through two election cycles. 
Everyone knows that Arlen Specter is getting spanked in the polls these days. The recent figure splashed across headlines gave contender Pat Toomey a 21 point lead. That kind of blackjack hand beats a joker like Specter any day.
The only significance of Arlen Specter is that he was one of 100 senators. That and he sounds just like McGruff the Crime Dog. Like so many endless incumbents, he just hasn’t been relevant for years. These entrenched politicians spend a majority of time securing the next election victory.
Specter knows that his slipping popularity is not likely in an era when Americans consistently disapprove of congressional leaders over 70% of the time yet still vote the fools back into office nearly 3 out of 4 times. Even bitter, old John Murtha managed to win reelection after insulting his voting base TWICE! Then again, Murtha is a democrat. Now Specter wants to join him. Read more »
New York Not Amused At Obama’s Photo Op
Somebody should remind the White House that a plane flying low over New York is a touchy subject. One of President Obama’s planes and an Air Force fighter jet flew low over the Statue of Liberty on Monday for a photo opportunity approved by someone, somwhere; although White House press secretary Robert Gibbs didn’t know anything about the maneuver.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg fumed as many city residents panicked. Hundreds of calls poured into the 911 emergency response line. Multiple companies evacuated employees during the tense confusion. Thousands of scared New Yorkers filled the streets. Oh by the way, stocks lost a little extra while our tax money paid for this public relations bucket of waste.
What a bunch of clowns. Great Reagan’s ghost. How in the name of Sidney Crosby could anybody, let alone high ranking government officials, be so stupid as to fly a jumbo jet and fighter plane so low next to the World Trade Center site? Oh yeah, they’re high ranking government officials. Job qualifications consist of having parent’s who pay for SAT prep guides.
Mayor Bloomberg did not mince words in a heated statement during which he described himself as “furious.” According to Reuters, the uninformed mayor told reporters that “Had I known, I would have called them right away and asked them not to. …. They should know how sensitive people would be if they had low-flying planes down around the World Trade Center site.” Read more »
Draft Debate: ESPN vs. NFL Network
If you follow the NFL, this weekend feels like Christmas. The spring entry draft features loads of analysis, college stars, and Mel Kiper’s hair. Or does it?
You tell me. Do you prefer the NFL Network or ESPN for football coverage these days?
I’ve been pretty hard on the four-letter network recently, but I also know they have me at hello when a football broadcast is starting. So after the Penguins crushed the Flyers to win round #1 of the NHL playoffs, I flipped over to ESPN to play their draft day coverage in the background. Chris Berman and Steve Young were there as always. Keyshawn Johnson and Mel Kiper flanked them.
After five minutes of the same old coverage, I realized that another option exists these days. I flipped over to the glorious NFL Network in fabulous HD. Rich Eisen, Marshall Faulk, Jon Gruden, Steve Mariucci, Mike Mayock, and more broke it down. The coverage was like a fix for a crack addict. Now I’m good until August.
So let’s have it. ESPN or NFL Network?
You can comment your opinion below, subscribe to my feed or you can click here to receive posts via email.
Playing Hookey With Facebook In Switzerland
Imagine you’ve just sat down at your computer, steaming cup of Swiss cocoa at your side. You punch a few keys for some Facebook fun during a nice relaxing day off work. Then you get fired from your job.
An insurance worker for Nationale Suissehad that experience this week after calling off work with a migraine headache she said made computer work impossible. The 30-year-old employee left work sick and later used her iPhone to access the popular social networkin
g site. Now she’s out of a job.
Last week blogger Blake Sunshineexplained how Facebook is the #1 social network site in 11 of Europe’s 17 countries including Switzerland. Sunshine finished up the post about Facebook’s success by explaining (accurately) that “It is now safe to make Facebook a large part of your social media marketing strategy.”
The sick Swiss worker may hold a different view. Facebook: Great for marketing, terrible when skipping work.
How Hillary Might React To Being Fired
I won’t pretend to know enough specifics of this incident to make any judgments. As an employer, I wouldn’t be happy if an employee left work sick and was later seen gallivanting around town. Many people have found much worse ways to get fired. If I found out they went home and read a book or newspaper, I wouldn’t care. Facebook wouldn’t be a big deal either except for the claim that the employee could not work in front of a computer. Read more »
The Romans Hated Taxes Too
Pundits like to kick around the discussion comparingAmerica to the Roman Republ
ic. That’s a hard sell for me, but the life and times of Emperor Diocletian bear some eerie resemblances the 2009 White House.
Unpopular border wars, economic recession, and inflation all plagued Rome into the 2nd century. The Roman Peace had ended and the mighty empire seemed doomed.
Onto the scene rushed Diocletian, a strong willed autocratic promoting drastic change. He was the first emperor in decades to assume the title of “lord” and publicly be called “god.” The guy had some kind of messiah complex, but the people obliged since he was in charge. Read more »
Would George Washington Try Coke?
April 23 marks the anniversary of one of the biggest business blunders in history. On this day in 1985 Coca-Cola decided to ditch its billion dollar formula that had pleased people around the world for a century. The nation’s response to that tinkering holds lessons today for an experimental government playing mad scientist over our national cauldron.
In the 1980s, Coca-Cola owned a goldmine product and a household name when the smooth operation was ground to a sharp halt. Increasing competition and sagging sales led to a drastic change. The top-secret Classic formula was scrapped and New Coke filled store shelves. Consumers responded like hornets in a hive being beaten with sticks. Company executives were called four letter words like dumb and jerk. Three months late
r the original formula was back on the shelves.
Don’t get cocky over there Pepsi. Most of us still remember Crystal Pepsi which looked like carbonated water and tasted like regurgitated mouthwash.
Why must we tinker so? I hate cliches, but the one about “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” might have spawned from some nuggets of wisdom. The Founding Fathers would probably agree. Read more »
American Idol: And Then There Were 5
No surprises tonight. Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai are gone. The producers brought lip syncing back to a singing show. Scott MacIntyre is still gone.
The return of David Archuleta and his contagious smile reminds me that this group just doesn’t have characters that you really care about. Just about any one of them could get tossed and so what? Scott was the guy that displayed joy and made people happy.
Here’s how the final five stack up. Read more »
Worry About Your Own Sin
Are evangelical Christians too tough on homosexuals? Monday’s USA Today featured an article called An Evangelical’s Plea: ‘Love the sinner’ by Jonathan Merritt who takes on this issue. Merritt contends that his fellow American believers are hypocritical by claiming to follow Jesus Christ yet condemning gay men and lesbians.
While Me
rritt believes that God’s model is “lifelong, monogamous, heterosexual union,” he’s asking where the love is these days. The old mantra of “love the sinner, hate the sin” isn’t working out he claims. There’s plenty of sin hating but little sinner loving.
I remember sitting offstage in a TV studio a few years ago as Dr. Tony Campolo, radical evangelist dynamo conducted an interview for a future broadcast. I had escorted Tony and his wife Peggy from the airport. The host asked about all the tough issues facing Christians and what Campolo believed. Then that host asked for a clarification to a point.
The question went something like “so we should love the sinner and hate the sin?”
Peggy Campolo backhanded my forearm and gulped a sound that seemed to mean “oh brother” and yuck all at once. She had heard this before. I was intrigued.
On the stage, under the lights, Dr. Campolo squared against the interviewer and responded. “No. You should love the sinner and worry about your own sin.”
I will never forget that. You shouldn’t either whether you’re a Muslim, atheist, Catholic, or whatever. Read more »
Tiananmen Tea Party
Last week’s tea parties wound down quietly, then the protesters went home. No one stopped them. No one showed up to threaten them.
In China twenty years ago a spontaneous protest against frightening government controls led to the deadly conflict in Tiana
nmen Square. The incident culminated with hundreds, perhaps thousands, dead in what is called the June 4th Massacre by government opponents. The political establishment watered down the massacre by declaring it The Political Turmoil Between the Spring and Summer of 1989. That’s not very catchy. So much for Chinese public relations.
Protesters originally gathered to mourn the loss of Hu Yaobang, a popular, pro-democracy leader who died that spring. A wave of anti-communist sentiment had been sweeping across the hemisphere. The Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse, and Yaobang spoke positively of democratic reforms in Asia’s dominant nation.
Many of the protesters came from universities, students and teachers impacted by Yaobang’s encouragement of free press and speech. They gathered by the thousands in Beijing and began calling for immediate reform and economic change. The West watched as the movement grew. For weeks, the protesters pushed their agenda, even using hunger strikes to sacrificially offer themselves for the good of their countrymen. Read more »
Great Scott! It’s George McFly’s Birthday
Today is Crispin Glover’s birthday. Glover gave life to one of the greatest underdogs in Hollywood lore. George Douglas McFly is the loveable loser from Back To The Future, one of the greatest trilogies ever created.
Some people mistakenly believe that Glover played the diminishing role of Marty’s father in the Back To The Future sequels, but the role was recast and played by Jeffrey Weissman. With the help of some special effects and brilliant mimicry, the actor switch is usually undetectable even by watchful fans.
Glover ended up suing over the use of his character, and the Screen Actor’s Guild tweaked the rules for future cases. Nevertheless, Glover made the role what it is, a man who overcomes relatable fears by standing up to the prototypical bully, Biff Tannen. Here is a sampling.
Here’s another one that’s great fun. Someone combined BTTF with Barrack Obama. Very creative. Read more »
Braveheart, Weird Science, and Kevin Bacon
By now you all know that Braveheart is the greatest movie of all time. You’re welcome to disagree, but that makes you a horrible person.
Turns out, through much genealogical digging by my fellow-dorkish family, that yours truly is personally related to the real Robert the Bruce, the 14th Century Scottish noble who was really stupid to William Wallace and the commoners before wising up and deciding to lead the freedom-seeking revolutionaries of Scotland.
In Braveheart, Robert the Bruce is played by Angus MacFad
yen. The versatile actor has kept busy since that blockbuster work in 1995. He’s done a bunch of stuff from portraying Peter Lawford of the Rat Pack to many recent appearances in the dark and popular Saw movies.
Since The Bruce and I are practically cousins, I’ve given some more thought to my conflicted, old ancestor and the man who once portrayed him. That’s when I started thinking about another movie, Weird Science. Read more »
Bill Guerin For President Of Awesomeness
Since Billy Guerin arrived in Pittsburgh last month, he has filled a need on Sidney Crosby’s wing, earned the respect of his teammates, and provided the leadership of a veteran who knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. After last night, you can 
add a vital element to that list. He also scores huge goals including overtime winners in the playoffs.
Guerin’s been on the wrong side of the Penguins since he entered the league way back in 1991-92 with the New Jersey Devils. He’s a career +60 despite playing on some bad teams. His 400+ career goals include 73 game winners.
Like a wily wide receiver in football, the veteran winger knows how to sneak into soft spots on the ice. From those areas he unleashes wicked snap shots, great finishers for Crosby’s nightly dose of precision passes.
Guerin is also earning a growing leadership role on the team. He has consistently stood up for new teammates, even dropping the gloves against overaggressive opponents if necessary. In the first week of April, he took on New Jersey’s David Clarkson just a few days before going toe to toe with Tampa Bay giant Evgeni Artyukhin, the thickest 6’5 skater in hockey and one of the league’s leader in hits. That’s how Guerin leads, by doing whatever is necessary at any point in time.
Last night, goals were needed badly as the Flyers continually withstood a healthy barrage of offense and shots. Guerin put the Penguins on the board in the second period, but during overtime he sealed the victory with his first ever playoff winner. Read more »
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
It’s playoff time! No, I’m not talking about the NBA which is a complete waste of everything useful. (If you’re not sure how I feel here you go.)
We’re talking the NHL playoffs, a season within a season, the greatest championship tournament in any sport anywhere in the world. You’re certainly entitled to disagree, but that makes you a terrible person.
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Around here it’s all about the Pittsburgh Penguins and Captain Crosby. There’s also that Malkin guy too, frontrunner for the MVP. The Pens are already up on the Philadelphia Flyers, hockey’s biggest band of pig-headed goons from the city of brotherly thugs.
The Flyers led the league in penalties this year because that’s what they know. You could rip a kid from seminary, throw him on the Flyers team, and he would be slashing at defenseless wrists in the first period. That’s what they do.
So it was no surprise that after completely throttling Philly Wednesday, the goons spent the last few minutes trying to hurt dominant players. The penalty box filled with orange jerseys before Daniel Carcillo slammed a fist and butt end of his st
ick into Max Talbot’s face with 7 seconds to go. Classy move. He’s not even as big a creep as cheapshot artist Scott Hartnell (pictured).
But it starts with the organization and head coach, John Stevens, who was fined $10,000 for encouraging his scumbag skaters. Carcillo is suspended for tonight’s game. Read more »
Welcome To Here
In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo he can take the blue pill and go on believing whatever he wants to believe. Or he can take the red pill to stay in Wonderland and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
This is a red pill type site with a weekly column (and some extras in between) that provides information in an entertaining way. It’s about clear thinking and good writing. It’s about truth.
I’m a writer/speaker who teaches history and political science at a local college by day. Where is local, you say? Well, that would be Wonderland of course.
From pop culture to pop politics, this is my column.
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