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Posted on 04.05.12 by Danny Glover @ 12:26 pm
The ingenuity of Americans who discover ways to exploit the incompetence of government — and the perpetual naivete of bureaucrats who create loopholes — never ceases to amaze me. Three stories in the past month illustrate this reality. The first involved a bankrupt Washington-area couple who have lived in a Maryland mansion for five years without paying their mortgage:
Next came Amanda Clayton, the Michigan woman who continued collecting food stamps after winning $1 million in the state lottery. Her defense:
Filed under: Business and Culture and Government and News & Politics and People Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.03.12 by Danny Glover @ 10:46 am
Hoppy Kercheval of MetroNews, the radio network that calls itself “the voice of West Virginia,” spotted a hypocritical editorial juxtaposition in this morning’s Charleston Gazette, one of the Mountain State’s two capital city newspapers. First came the editorial rightfully decrying the rise of “far-right, racist, extremist groups” in West Virginia and across America:
You might think the writer was just engaging in hyperbole, and you would be right. But it’s much like the inappropriate hyperbole that got Limbaugh into so much trouble last month when he attacked Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke for her views on government-subsidized contraception. Free speech gives staff writer Susan Williams the right to voice her ugliness at Limbaugh and The Charleston Gazette the right to publish it. But decent people should condemn them for it and for their double standard about what constitutes acceptable hyperbole to make a point. Filed under: Entertainment and Media and News & Politics and People and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 03.20.12 by Danny Glover @ 1:19 pm
“They can’t see past their prejudices.” That’s what misogynistic, hate-spewing and hypocritical HBO talker Bill Maher said right after airing this prejudicial portrayal of Mississippi voters: Slate’s Dave Weigel is right that it’s fair game to expose “stupid voters” for what they are by accurately reporting what they say and believe. Video producer John Ziegler did a great job of exposing the civics ignorance of Barack Obama voters on Election Day 2008 in his brilliant short video “How Obama Got Elected.” But the video on Maher’s show revived the same predictable redneck-bashing stereotypes that liberal elites have embraced for decades to malign people who don’t think like they do. You knew the video was going to be bad because Maher tried to rebut the inevitable outcry of Mississippians, other “real Americans in the South” and their conservative brethren before his producers even hit the play button. “She did not cherry-pick these people,” he insisted of video producer Alexandra Pelosi, the daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “… We are not making fun of anybody. She did not seek out people who look like what some people would say rednecks [look like]. Maher repeated that defense after the video aired — “[Pelosi] said she cut out 20 people who also did not have teeth” — but the disingenuousness of that claim became apparent as he, his guests and the audience laughed about the physical appearance of the people featured in and cut out of the video. The video was so obviously designed to perpetuate a myth about toothless, ignorant redneck voters in the South that even liberals are criticizing it. Filed under: Culture and Hatin' On Rednecks and News & Politics and People and Rednecks and Religion and Video and West Virginia Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 03.14.12 by Danny Glover @ 4:39 pm
While commuting to work yesterday, I cheered on the inside as I read a lengthy Politico story that explored the many ways President Obama “gets away with” behavior that would have created a firestorm of political and media criticism of his predecessor, President George W. Bush. “It’s about time someone wrote this important piece!” I thought to myself. What I didn’t realize until later is that someone had written the story — more than two years ago. And that someone was Josh Gerstein, the Politico reporter who penned this week’s piece. I found the two articles in a Google search of a shortened version of the headline that appeared on both articles — “What If George W. Bush Had Done That?”  
The coverage wasn’t exactly the same. But there are enough striking similarities, including the author, the subject matter and the headline, to make you want to say “Hmmm?” Bush adviser Ed Gillespie is even quoted in both pieces. Filed under: Media and News & Politics and People Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.28.12 by Danny Glover @ 12:23 pm
There are many lessons in these words of homeschooling wisdom from Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, from his 2005 book “It Takes A Family”:
Thankfully, many American parents can choose to teach their children at home rather than sending them children to government-run education factories. More should give it a whirl. (Read previous “Why We Home-School” lessons.) Filed under: Family and Government and Home Schooling and News & Politics and Parenting and People and Why We Home-School Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.27.12 by Danny Glover @ 11:54 pm
As I type, I’m watching an episode of “Bizarre Foods” that features West Virginia delicacies and a hunting guide nicknamed “Redneck.” He just bragged that his biggest monthly bill is his cell phone, so he’s an enlightened redneck — my kind of people.
Remember that blog post I wrote a few weeks back about eating groundhog? Thanks to “Bizarre Foods,” you now have video proof. Host Andrew Zimmern told the story of pepperoni rolls, too. But even I learned something tonight: I had no idea that some of my fellow West Virginians eat mink. Or do they? The report on the “Roadkill Cook-off” left me wondering what’s true versus what’s for show. Filed under: Entertainment and Food and History and Hunting & Guns and Media and People and Rednecks and West Virginia and Wildlife Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.22.12 by Danny Glover @ 1:23 am
Three of the current top five pieces on the site are attacks on Santorum, and the hit pieces continue as you scroll further down the site or look at the “Most Viral in Politics” sidebar. Here are the headlines:
And then there’s the piece lamenting the fact that no matter how many presumably outrageous Santorum quotes BuzzFeed and other publications unearth, the new frontrunner is “gaffe-proof.”
Reading BuzzFeed these days is like reading transcriptions of the opposition research compiled by either his top GOP rival, Mitt Romney, or the Democratic National Committee — or both. I’ve rarely seen a presumably objective publication so transparently contemptuous of a candidate and so determined to drive a negative narrative about him or her. But hey, BuzzFeed is driving traffic and generating buzz for itself. That’s all that matters in today’s “journalism,” right? UPDATE: Rich Lowry of National Review explains what’s really stirring in the minds of journalists who keep trying to manufacture Santorum controversies.
Filed under: 1980s and Adoption and Books and Culture and Media and News & Politics and People Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.21.12 by Danny Glover @ 11:38 pm
I learned tonight that our sweet, 10-year-old Elli loves this song. She even lip syncs it: The Christian angel on my right shoulder is telling me to be horrified; the redneck Daddy devil on my left shoulder is insisting that I should be beaming with pride. Filed under: Entertainment and Family and Music and People and Rednecks and Video Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.20.12 by Danny Glover @ 12:05 am
The customized education our children get at home will prepare them much better for life than the cookie-cutter training they get in public school “factories.” Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is absolutely right:
(Read previous “Why We Home-School” lessons.) Filed under: Government and News & Politics and People and Why We Home-School Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.17.12 by Danny Glover @ 4:24 pm
Well, candy fans, there’s sad news in the snack world this week. It looks like the obesity mafia organized by first lady Michelle Obama to whack all the fat and fun out of American society has put a hit on the king-size Snickers bar. Mars, the candy company that makes Snickers and other delicious treats, has caved to the politically correct pressure of the food police. Come 2013, the company will stop selling candy bars that include more than 220 calories. Forget the free-market principle of supply and demand that says if customers want giant candy bars, Mars will make them. When the first lady is traveling the country to decry the “obesity epidemic,” it makes more sense for Mars to conform to an arbitrary caloric line. This corporate change of heart about sugary overload isn’t a bad thing for me personally. I’ve consumed way too many king-size Snickers bars in my life. But coming as it does amid a White House-driven campaign against obesity, and after the nanny state has taken control of light bulbs across America, it’s a wee bit annoying. It’s also a hypocritical marketing gimmick considering that I just spotted a $10 Snickers bar like this in a local CVS last week:
These developments combined have inspired me. For our New Year’s Eve party this year, in memory of the soon-to-be-smaller Snickers bars, I’m going to buy a “Slice ‘n Share” Snickers to bid farewell to an American tradition. Maybe I’ll cut it into servings of 220 calories or less in honor of Mr. Mars and Michelle Obama. Then we’ll dim all the incandescent light bulbs in the house and invite everyone to gather ’round our energy-inefficient TV to watch comedian Tim Hawkins tell us all about his dream of a “Snickaloaf.” Filed under: 1980s and Adoption and Business and Culture and Food and Government and Human Interest and Just For Laughs and Media and News & Politics and People and Rednecks and Video Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.11.12 by Danny Glover @ 9:40 pm
Our family just finished watching a marathon of last season’s “Top Shot” on the History Channel, and we were all thrilled to see Dustin Ellerman, who runs a religious camp in Texas, win the $100,000 prize. He was probably the only competitor on the show who didn’t need to be bleeped for vulgarity. After watching the season finale, I decided to poke around the Internet to learn more about Ellerman and found this post-”Top Shot” interview with him on CBN: What an excellent role model! For a while today, I wasn’t so sure I had made a wise choice in picking “Top Shot” for quality father/son and male-bonding time with our 12-year-old. Although the History Channel bleeps most of the bad language from its reality shows, it’s fairly easy to interpret them visually, and the bad guy of “Top Shot,” Jake Zweig, uttered the f-word so many times during a couple of the episodes that I almost turned off the show. But after seeing Ellerman win, I’m glad we watched to the end. The bad guy revealed himself to be a total loser in every respect, and the good guy won convincingly, after weeks of demonstrating both sportsmanship and humility. He stayed true to his faith and quietly let his light shine before people who clearly don’t put God first. Those are lessons I’m glad our children had the opportunity to learn. Who’d have thunk they could learn it by watching reality TV? Filed under: Entertainment and Hunting & Guns and People and Religion and Video Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 02.08.12 by Danny Glover @ 2:50 pm
Despite being a freshman senator from a small state, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin keeps landing on the front page of Politico, one of the premier publications in Washington. But he’s getting all the attention for picking a college football fight, not for doing anything monumental for America. Here’s a snapshot of Manchin’s first appearance on Politico’s cover last October, in caricature, after he accused Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., of playing political games to try to deny West Virginia University an invitation to the Big 12 football conference:
The Big 12 ultimately picked WVU over McConnell’s alma mater, the University of Louisville. But today, Manchin and McConnell were back on Politico’s front page because McConnell reportedly is bitter about last year’s spat — so bitter that he talked Manchin’s 2010 campaign rival, Republican John Raese, into challenging Manchin for re-election this fall:
I like Manchin’s spunk and his loyalty to the alma mater we share. I also realize that McConnell may well have done what Manchin accused him of doing and is simply unwilling to admit it. But without any evidence to support the accusation, save the word of fellow West Virginians who had an agenda, Manchin shouldn’t have leveled the charge, repeatedly. He should be the bigger man now and do what he can to build a relationship with McConnell, up to and including an apology for his previous comments. Then the two senators should get back to work representing their states on more important matters. Filed under: News & Politics and People and Sports and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.16.12 by Danny Glover @ 2:19 pm
I’ve had my work published in some of America’s top publications, including The New York Times, but there’s something special about seeing my byline for the first time in the local newspaper I delivered as a child — and in defense of my fellow West Virginians and Mountaineers. After writing a blog post about Jay Leno’s West Virginia jokes, I asked the executive editor of The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register if he would be interested in publishing a column on the issue. He agreed. It ran in print yesterday and went online today. Here are excerpts from the column (with one background link added by me):
Read the whole column at the newspaper’s website. Filed under: Hatin' On Rednecks and Media and People and Rednecks and Sports and West Virginia Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 01.12.12 by Danny Glover @ 12:51 am
The Orange Bowl is juicing the controversy over last week’s sacking of mascot “Obie” for all the cheesy, pun-filled comedy its worth. During the game, West Virginia safety Darwin Cook tackled Obie after a fumble recovery and 99-yard touchdown return. Obie made as many highlight reels as Cook, especially after Cook admitted that he knocked the mascot down on purpose to send a message. “When I saw him, I felt like he was doubting us, too, so I smashed him,” Cook told the Dominion Post in Morgantown, W.Va. “Oh yeah, that was on purpose because he was doubting us. I had to tackle Obie.” Only later, in an on-field interview, did Cook learn that Obie was a girl. Today the Orange Bowl published tweets that featured a photo and video of Obie supposedly being released from the hospital after a week of recovery. Obie is none too happy with Cook and apparently plotting revenge. “We have one angry orange. This could become a very juicy situation,” a reporter said in a mock Orange Bowl report. Filed under: Just For Laughs and People and Sports and Video and West Virginia Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.11.12 by Danny Glover @ 12:30 pm
Hollywood plans to send a sad but true statement next week about the vulgar realities of today’s modern family. ABC will air an episode of “Modern Family” about a 2-1/2-year-old toddler who says the dirtiest of dirty words. “We thought it was a very natural story since, as parents, we’ve all been through this,” the show’s creator, Steve Levitan, said in defending the storyline. Levitan’s explanation stretches credibility. His latest envelope-pushing plot is more a case of crude Hollywood social engineers trying to shove society further down the road of immorality than “entertainment” reflecting a norm. But he’s not too far ahead of the reality curve. I’ve documented America’s seemingly perpetual slide into the pit of profanity on this blog:
Too many people think it’s cool, creative and comical to cuss. There is almost no circumstance where uttering a bad word is considered a bad thing. In that atmosphere, it is inevitable that men like Levitan will see how far they can go to make their black mark on society. I wish Simon Cowell’s attitude held more sway in Hollywood and reality. He is determined to produce family entertainment free of swearing. But when it comes to language, George Carlin is the hero. His admirers won’t rest until everyone from toddlers to grannies utter all seven of his dirty words (and then some) with reckless abandon at home, in school, on the job and across the airwaves. Filed under: Culture and Entertainment and Parenting and People and Religion Comments: 2 Comments |
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