Obama's Fox News embargo

So, I don't normally get political. I figure there are enough Harvard educated people out there who get paid to complain about the government and its policies and procedures, that I don't have to add my ignorant voice to the mix.

But this is different, this concerns the media, which I happen to know a few things about. So here are my two Abraham Lincoln's on the whole issue.

Now do me a favor, (if you can stomach it) click on to the Fox News Channel even if it is 5 minutes. If you can't, I understand, I will give you a piece they (Fox News) aired regarding the war on Fox.

My personal politics aside, I do find watching any of the programming on Fox News almost as painful as watching "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and if you are an avid rantaholic, you know how much I hate those stupid shows.

The truth of the matter is that Fox News has ceased actually covering the news a long time ago. Instead the pack of obvious republican reports began attempting to influence the news since it's fearless founder Rupert Murdoch discovered how he could use his news channel to push his personal agenda.

Watch the movie Outfoxed; listen to the arguments made by the makers of the documentary, then compare them to what you see by watching the channel for a whole day. Makes you kind of sick to call these guys "fair and balanced" journalists right? Me too...

Any one who has been lucky enough to clip on a press pass and charge into a controversy looking for a story will tell you that their responsibility first and foremost is to get the facts of the story and to report those facts to their audience. No where in that story is room for the reporters opinion or political agenda.

If there is a vehicle accident where 4 passengers were killed by a drunk driver, the story should reflect the incidents surrounding the accident itself and how those death occurred, not a glaring editorial on the horrors of drunk driving. That is what an editorial is for, not a news story.

In much the same fashion, Fox News has been blurring the line between news and opinion for decades and when they aren't attacking every liberal in sight on their "opinion" shows, they are running headlines that support those opinions. A great mashup of that point can be found here.

So it comes as no surprise to this ranter, that Obama wishes to have nothing to do with Fox News or any one of the television personalties who grace its set.

Look, if you told me that on may way home there would be an alley of kids who were waiting to kick my ass, take my lunch money and break my legs... do you think I would be dumb enough to walk down that alley? There are a million other analogies I can come up with, but they are far to inappropriate even for me, but you get the point right?

If you know someone is going to go out of their way to harm you, distort what you say, or just overall be foolish in their attempts to take you down, why would anyone want a piece of that action? I for one do not blame the president for his stance on not allowing known enemies in his gates.

And lets add this to the mix, Fox News has made Obama their enemy since day one, not the other way around. I remember on election day as the results were starting to become final around the country, making it a point to flip over to good old FNC to see how the handled announcing Barack Obama the new President of the United States of America. Needless to say, the actual statement came with no real excitement.

Now before the pro Foxers come out with their stones, I am not saying they should not exist. There is a need for healthy debate in this nation and the fine folks at Fox News sure do a good job of striking up that debate and love 'em or hate 'em, they serve their purpose in a free society. I have nothing against them or what they do, but why not call a spade a spade. Fox News is not news, it is a series of opinions mascaraing as legit news gathering.

Again, this is not an argument I have to make, they make it themselves on a nightly basis. And it seems to me that the day Murdoch and his drones come clean and admit that fact, is the day they get to play in the big kids playground again.

Obama and the White House has put the ball in play...you're move O'Reilly, Hannity, Murdoch... what now?

The art of a good rant

For those of you who have been tuning in to Rod's Rants lately hoping to see a good old fashion rantathon, I apologize. As the planning continued, this thing took on a life of its own and got a wee bit bigger than I had originally anticipated. So to make up for that fact, I had to continue to reschedule.

I then decided to launch a new site for this special event, (that is why you are on my blogspot address rather than rodsrants.com) which has put me in a whirlwind of nameserver problems and this website pointing to that DNS which is pointing to someone else’s CNAME and to top it all off, the webhost I am using saw the need to review my website for malicious content FOR THE WHOLE DAY, thus limiting my ability to work on the site.

SO needless to say, the rantahon will have to wait until after the weekend and all problems aside, should roll on Monday.

Thank you to those participants who have weathered through the storm I give you my word that my ranting will soon be heard for a full day.

With that being said....To the topic

Anyone can spout off at the mouth. It doesn’t take a person with an education to say what is on their mind; they just have to know how to speak a language with some, some mind you, level of proficiency.

To that end I present to you this young man. He has something to say and dammit all if he doesn't beat around the bush. Two things before you watch this.

1. This is NOT, I repeat NOT for those who might be easily offended by ignorance and the language that goes with that ignorance.
2. This video is long, you get the gist within the first few minutes, but if you make it that far, you might as well suffer through the rest, if only for your own education.

Disclaimers aside...here you go...

So believe it or not, this is NOT a good rant. A good rant can not just be spewed out like the chaw that guy is wanting to impeach the president over.

A good rant must be crafted like a fine piece of china. It must be researched and developed so that if someone attacks your point of view, you can defend it without having to resort to your American/Rebel flag.

And last, but certainly not least, must not contain the same argument, for 7 minutes. It's fine if you want to argue the importance of chewing tobacco, but make sure you have a better presentation than a string of insults.

Talk policy and revenue, may even the impact of the ban on the economy as a whole, that would have made for a better rant. No my redneck friend, yours is not a rant, merely an example of what not to do, and a rather good one at that.

So in review, when constructing a good rant, neigh, a great rant. Follow these three simple steps:

1. Do your research - An educated argument is far more powerful than one where you as a ranter clearly have no clue what the hell you are talking about.
2. Use language appropriate to your argument - You ever heard the expression, "don't bring a knife to a gun fight?" Well the same holds true in a rant. A bag full of four-letter words won't do you any good in front of an educated audience. Likewise, you may find yourself banging your head against a wall when trying to appeal to someone with the maturity of a third grader.
3. Be prepared to lose friends - A powerful ranter ruffles feathers, that is his/her nature. Know that your opinion, whatever it may be, will not always be that of your friends. That being the case, unless you and your friends engage in spirited debates on a regular basis, they may not like what you have to say. And, if they are weak and petty and do not know how to get along with those with a difference of opinion, you might not see them by the water cooler tomorrow at work. Don't fear, either they will come to their senses and realize how unfair they are being, or they really weren't that good a friend in the first place.

So there you have it, the art of a good rant. You have the tools, what you do with them is up to you! Go forth rantaholics and wreak havoc upon the blogoshpere!

Why toddler do not belong in tiaras

The very thought of this disturbs me in ways that I can't even describe... but I will try after you watch this short clip.

How is this even possible? I know this stupid show on TLC has been covering this age old phenomenon since January of this year, but I got to ask the big execs on high..WHY??

There is something seriously wrong with these parents, and there was in more cases than not, something wrong with their parents. It is one thing to live out your childhood dreams vicariously through your own kids, but this is freaking ridiculous!

At no point should a 6 year old KID, be forced to prance around looking like she is 26. And did you catch the newborn caught up in this? The poor thing is barely old enough to hold up his own head, let alone know he is being paraded on stage like a trophy.

Sad...

These kinds of parents are the same ones who start crying to Dateline, that their daughters are being approached by older men and they can't understand why they are half naked on their Myspace pages.

Earth to morons... you made your kid grow up to fast!! Instead of kicking around a soccer ball or swinging a t-ball bat, or even god forbid, letting them make a mess of themselves in a mudhole... you taught them how to properly apply eyeliner, how to strut around like a stripper and how to keep their swimsuits from riding up their butts.

SHAME ON YOU! I wish it were possible to ship you all off to a secluded island with your kids so you can no longer breed and mess up our world. You have lost your gene pool privilege, turn your key back to the gate guard on the way out.

It's one thing to play dress-up every once in a while for fun... but this is just plain pathetic. I can't wait for 10 years for now when TLC airs.."Toddler & Tiaras; Where are they now", no wait, they all ready have a show like that on MTV, it's called "16 and Pregnant."

Until then....go ahead and let your toddlers do their little turns on the catwalk, just don't complain to me when they are damaged goods by the time they hit their teens.

Presenting the WTF?!?!? moment of this weekend

Watch this hit...

Insane right? Now I know that football is a physical sport and that these types of collisions happen...but with that being said WTF were you thinking Dante Wesley?

Granted, that hit was pretty awesome, he led with his shoulder, not the helmet, and left his feet, both of which are perfectly fine, but his first mistake came with the "forearm contact with the head and neck area." Also he made another big mistake... what was it again?

Oh yeah, Tampa Bay's Clifton Smith didn't have the ball, and to make matters worse, called for a fair catch, or so the refs said. Personally, I am still not sold on the fair catch call, but that's besides the point.

It is one thing Mr. Wesley to lay the guy out the way you did, (by the way, did I say how awesome that hit was) but next time, you might want to make sure he HAS THE FREAKING BALL!!

Wesley is no rookie either, this is his 8th year in the league, so you can't really chalk it up to an ignorant mistake.

For his transgressions Dante will receive a one game suspension without pay. Which is probably a far less number than the $25,000 fine fellow defensive player and Baltimore Ravens Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis incurred for his hit on the Bengals receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson.

Got to hand it to the guy though, he did man up to what he did. In a quote from a story in the Charlotte Observer the hard hitting DB apologized to the fans and to Smith and expressed that he would accept and agreed with his punishment.

All that withstanding, congratulations Dante Wesley of the Carolina Panters, you still receive the WTF!?!? moment of the weekend...please enjoy your day off.

I am Ironwebman!

Or at least I will be soon...

So I have been preaching for weeks to some of you, months for others, and years to the rest, that Internet television is the wave of the future. Well, come this Tuesday, I will be ushering in a new era for me and my push to secure my spot in this future.

Beginning at 8am (not 6 like I posted on Twitter, sorry for the bad info), I will begin a 24 hour, live webcast. I will host a show that will continue for one entire day ending at 8am Wednesday.

Throughout the broadcast I will be taking contributions of which a portion will be donated to one or two worthy programs, possibly the Community Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Paws for Paws pending verification.

Now to put your mind at ease, this will not be just me sitting in front of a camera talking for 24 hours, that my friend, would be insane. I will be joined by many guests throughout the show, maybe even some of you, to talk and do some self promotion for whatever event is going on or whatever issues there are to discuss.

I know, you are asking yourself..."why Rod? What would drive you to this madness?"

Well, for one, I feel it is time for me to step up to the plate and step down from the pulpit, meaning I am going to start shutting up and start putting up. Also it is just another way for me to contribute to the Stockton media scene.

This initial broadcast will also be ushering in a new show that will continue in some manner after the marathon. There are methods to my madness... I promise.

More information will be available tomorrow including where to find the broadcast, how to be on the show and more importantly, how to contribute. Keep checking my Twitter and my Facebook for the updates... Until then, I am going to get some sleep... I am going to need it...

Non-flight of the Falcon

Today's post was going to be about the fine art of Googling oneself, but thanks to the media's, both social and traditional, relentless coverage and updates of Falcon, the wonder 6 year old and his epic non-flight in his families "experimental" aircraft, that post has been preempted.

For those four of you who may have had your head in the sand today (believe me, I wish I could have joined you) or were not close to your web browsing device of choice, the story de jour was a family who's son supposedly was traveling through the sky after he climbed in and let loose a homemade, mylar aircraft.

According to early reports there were fears that the contraption would not be able to support young Falcon or that he might have possibly fallen out through the unlocked carriage door.

This horrific story blitzed Twitter tweets and Facebook status updates the world over. National media picked up the story as CNN made it a point to follow the balloon's trip all the way to its completion. The news even jumped the pond and crossed our northern border as well. Hell, even the middle east was watching.

But here's the twist... Falcon was never in that balloon, he was hiding in the attic in a box. Apparently the young gentleman "played with his toys and took a nap."

WTF?? Can I be the one millionth person to call shenanigans?? How in the name of everything holy, can this be considered CNN worthy news? This reeks of a story invented to grab some attention, more like a boy crying "wolf" than a boy stuck in a well.

More over, as the back story began to unfold on Falcon's family, it turns out they were participants on the ABC show "Wife Swap," and frequent ireporters for CNN. Hmmm.... that fish smell sure is getting stronger.

Now of course this story becomes fair game since the boy was found at home instead of splattered on a Kansas field somewhere, and any joke anyone makes now won't sound as heartless as it would if Falcon was in that craft and did suffer a terrible fate, but you have to ask yourself, why was this such a barn burning media sensation? And, if this was all an attempt to extend the Henne's 15 minutes, why did we all buy into it so whole-heartedly?

For that, allow me to refer to my last post about reality television... these are ramifications of handing the keys of celebrity to the undeserving. But thank god for 6 year olds and their inability to lie under pressure.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Wolf Blitzer shortly after Falcon was found:

Did you hear the part where Falcon admitted they did it all for a show... and did you catch the quick tap dancing act the dad did to cover it up? Let's face facts, we have been had. Move on, good night.

Part of the conspiracy theory side of my brain even thinks we have the ABC execs to thank for this. Maybe a clause in the contract stating that at any time they can be "tapped" to help ratings for the new season about to start soon?

One things for sure though, I do have to say if we take one thing out of this crazy situation is, it has proven me right about the power of the web.

This story was like a buffet for the users of social media. A CNN story reported the numerous tweets as well as at least three fan pages on Facebook popped up almost immediately. On top of that, t-shirts and a spoof video have surfaced, even as the story continues to unfold. CNN may have started us on the path, but the web took our heads and held it underwater until we drowned in the insanity. It's how I found out...

But in the end, thank you Henne's for proving to the world that it is alright to exploit our 6 year old children in the name of fame...now do us all a favor and disappear back to obscurity, your hourglass has run out of sand.

Un-reality TV: Bad for TV, good for us

I have stated before in this blog that everyone has a voice.. well some people should have the right to that voice revoked... Case and point, every "star" of today's crop of reality shows.
Allow me to start with the show I feel is the biggest waste of air time on the boob tube, The Hills.

I do not watch this show, nor have I even made it through an episode from beginning to end, and normally I would tell someone who told me that, "but you never gave it a chance," to which I now reply, "if I look down and see a piece of s@#t on the ground, do I have to give it a chance to prove it's really s#$t?
Here, just take a look at what I mean:

The Hills - MTV Shows

Three things I despise about these people even after one and a half minutes of "show"

1. The fact that these worthless vapid people who are famous for no other reason than being famous can afford a house like that with money they didn't really do anything to earn.
2. That people actually care about the mundane everyday life of people like this.
3. That they are considering procreating

One quick bonus for you, did you catch the part where Hedi says, "I didn't really like it at first, but it is starting to grow on me." I know some guys under the freeway overpass who would love one night in that place, let alone to actually live there.. ungrateful b*&^h!

The sad fact of the matter is that this show is not the only one polluting our senses night after night. The Kardashians, the girls next door, has beens from decades past who dance, the list seems almost endless, but they all have one major flaw in common, they started being staged and stopped being real.

LC, formerly of the Hills, admitted to the fact in an interview on The View and told the ladies that she was not even on the receiving end of a phone call that was supposedly an apology to her. And I am willing to bet dollars to pesos, that is not the only thing that has been doctored in The Hills, or any other so-called "reality show" nowadays.

But why is that good for us? Well as television's free fall continues from all the garbage it is cheaply producing, it leaves viewers looking for people who are less fake than the reality "stars" they are forced to consume.

Enter: the Internet. A place where the people are as real as the video phone they are using to shoot their lives. As long as real people have real things to say and do and as long as there is an Internet to house such people, crowds will gather...in force.

So I say, bring on more Hedi and Spencer (for now)! Keep making the kind of crap that sends those who are smart enough to know a turd when they see one to my website. And when the dust settles and it's all said and done, I think the unrealization of reality TV has given rise to the new crop of real stars and written it's own obituary.