Published Oct. 14th

It took me a while, years actually, to decide who drives the news in this wonderful country and after many years of watching these folks we now call the “media” I have to say, they do. And they’re driving us crazy while they do it. My favorite media person will always be Dizzy Dean, baseball announcer for NBC’s Baseball Game of the Week back in the day. He told it like it was, even when he used incorrect grammar or was occasionally “politically incorrect”. I always thought “slud” was an appropriate way after the fact, to describe a player who had slud into a base. I suppose I still do.  Regardless of how it came out of Ol’ Dizzy’s mouth, you knew the runner had arrived safely or not and was on the ground. Ol’ Diz put you in the seats for free and in 61’ that was all right. But I digress. The networks have spent hundreds of hours reporting on Ebola in America, when we have had, as I write this, two cases in our country and one of those came in on a plane. And what person in their right mind would get on a leaving for or coming from Africa these days? Now they’re pushing, “Are we equipped to handle it?” 

Watch on and step right up! Be baited and switched in the most elaborate media scheme to hit our shores in quite a while. Find out who did what to whom and when it was done so we can get those folks lawyered up and maybe considering a book deal. “How Nurse Ratchet Destroyed My Life Because She Didn’t Know Nothing About Ebola.” Hello! Two out of three hundred million ain’t bad odds. But to hear them spew this stuff, it’s coming to a hospital near you. And so will the law suits. Why there’s not a lawyer in Dallas, Texas, right now what’s not drooling in his cocktail for a shot (excuse the pun) at representing somebody that got Ebola that shouldn’t have gotten Ebola. The television media, a shameless bunch I wouldn’t let babysit my dogs ,Megan Kelly excepted, are using this stuff to sell you and me more product, more ideology, and more of what we don’t need than the best snake oil pitchman of the 19^th century. Now, before you go all off on me about the thousands that have died in Liberia and other African countries, let me say I’m sorry and I hope the troops we have sent over there can stem the tide and help those who are suffering from this terrible virus. But the truth is this manipulation of us began several years ago when someone had the ingenious idea of letting reporters interview each other to illicit information and opinion. So now what we have are reporters reporting on news and commentating on what it is they and others have reported. We have media “experts” telling us the “why” on the what (who, what, when, where) and they expect us to swallow it because one of them is interviewing one of them and the one of them that’s being interviewed is considered an “expert” because they reported on whatever “it” was. Opinions on current American diets, winning the wars and dealing with the economy are put forth by the likes of Brit Hume of Fox News, a man who can barely say his own name without incessant garbling (he sounds like he either lost his marbles or they ended up in his mouth) and most of the time he doesn’t even understand what he’s saying himself. 

Bring in social issues by the carload from MSNBC and sometimes CNN and you’ll hear about the virtues of same sex marriage or someone “coming out” and loving it. Additionally, the idea of a talking head thinking “it” knows more than say, a General Odierno when it comes to ISIS and boots on the ground, (Oops, forgot, we don’t’ have those) makes me want to dig a large hole in my back yard). When these media “experts” are willing to put their sons and daughters up for the draft that is surely coming, then they can relate to me. Until then, keep your opinion to yourself and just give me the “blues” er news.