Miss Nevada?

Katie Rees, depending on when you read this, she's Miss Nevada USA, or the former Miss Nevada USA or the reinstated Miss Nevada USA. She's your standard beauty pageant contestant. Looks great in a swimsuit. And like so many of God's little beauty contestants, she has pictures of herself (gasp)topless. There's also the picture that you see, here. I must admit, she's got taste. Girls kissing girls doesn't affect me one way or another. But I digress! Beauty pageants have rules. Without rules you have disorder and eventually chaos. Is it fair to allow Katie to break the rules and wear the crown? What about the other girls who played by the rules and lost? Fair to them? I find this fascinating! It's far more fascinating than pondering a solution to world hunger.

What Needy People Need.....

I work at a car dealershop. Each year we collect money for the boss' Christmas Gift. In recent years, we have been donating this money, in his name, to local organizations which help the needy. This year we came across a local organizition which teamed up with a very large, nationally known, discount store. They wanted us to buy items for the needy. Items like x-box stuff, i-pods and other big ticket toys. Is this what needy people need?

We opted for the food & clothing route.

When Fat People Fly!

Here's something that I learned over the Christmas weekend. Southwest Airlines charges obese people (also know as "people of size") for two tickets when they can't fit in a single seat. Depending on height, this usually happens at 320 pounds. At first, I thought that this was kind of funny, especially since I weigh 20 pounds less than the average American airline passenger. Here's Southwest's policy as it appears on their web site:
Customers who are unable to lower the armrests (the definitive boundary between seats) and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating should proactively book the number of seats needed during initial reservations. This purchase serves as a notification of an unusual seating need and allows us to process a refund of the additional seating cost after travel (provided the flight doesn’t oversell). Most importantly, it ensures that all onboard have access to safe and comfortable seating.
Maybe we can take this a step further by giving people with normal or less than normal weight a discount. Step on a scale and the computer tells you how much your ticket costs! We can do this in the name of airline safety! I have no mercy for people with their 5 Big Mac lunches and 64 ounce sodas. Most of us know someone like this. Hey if we can make smoking in public a crime, maybe we should make the overloading of our passenger planes with people of size (fat people) a crime too.

Tara Keeps Her Tiarra

Donald Trump calls a press conference to announce that he is not going to fire the reigning Miss USA, Tara Conner. Why call a press conference when you decide not to do something? I'll tell you why. PUBLICITY, that's why! So Tara Conner likes to party. A major NYC newspaper reported that she failled a drug test and that she was kicked out of her complimentary Trump Towers apartment. She was seen kissing Miss Teen USA, in public. She's been seen drinking, in public, before turning 21. You'd think that the Miss USA people would take her aside and tell her to straighten up or they'll send her back to Nowhere, Kentucky. I can hear Trump's people saying, "No, we can get more publicity, from this, than we could ever afford to buy! Hell, General Tom will write about us in his blog!"
Well, guys, it worked. I've never been much into the beauty pageant scene. Reports say that Tara has been competing in pageants since she was 4. I was asked to judge the local County Fair Queen Contest, twice. I did it only because I was asked. The money was a plus. Rewarding a girl because she's pretty (inheriting good looking genes) seems odd to me. The ability to skillfully apply makeup is also important and also carries a reward. The world has a way of rewarding pretty women - always has. With all this going for her, why would Tara screw up by getting drunk in public, fail drug tests and hit on another girl in public - why? I'll tell you why - white trash! Tara, you got the title, find the meaning of dignity.
Trump would fire you in a NY minute, sweetie, if it would benefit him. The greater benefit to him is to hold a press conference and to make himself look like a caring guy. PUBLICITY! He doesn't give a rat's rear end about you or about second chances. The picture is laughable! Oh - the Miss USA Pageant airs on NBC. This story was covered by all media, including non-NBC TV stations! This episode was a success!
BTW do you know where the rival Miss America Pageant airs? Care to guess? CMT, Country Music Television.

$20 Ballpark Beer - It's Coming!

Thank you, Boston Red Sox. Thank you for the $51.1 million that you bid to win the rights to sign Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka. His American Agent says 26 year old Matsuzaka is worth $100 million for 5 or 6 seasons. The Red Sox agree. They want the $51.1 Million to be included in the $100 Million...the agent doesn't.
Who is Daisuke Matsuzaka? A Japanese right handed pitcher, 26 years old with 204 games under his belt and a record of 108 and 60. His ERA is 2.95 and he has 1,355 strikeouts in those 204 games. I don't think he's worth it. The reality is that if he passes the Red Sox physical and gets his $100 million, then he is indeed worth it. The market for MLB pitchers is always changing. If an owner is willing to pay a player $20,000,000 a year, then that becomes his value. Just remember, sports fans, the money is really coming from us.

Rosie's Rosey Future

First she slams Kelly Rippa for being a homophobe. Then she mocks the Asian American population by mimicing their language. Rosie O'Donnell, like her or not is an important part of ABC's "The View." I don't watch The View. I can't stand Barbara Walters and besides, I'm working at the time when the show airs. Rosie will continue to be controversial to some people. She will also continue to be on The View as long as she wants to. To prove the point that no matter how negative the publicity may be, it's all good publicity, The View has just enjoyed the best November ratings in the show's history. Unless she wants to, Rosie isn't going anywhere.

Pastrami & Cheesecake

Apparently pastrami and cheesecake are high in protien and low in carbs. This falls in line with the Atkins diet. A Florida man, 53 year old Jody Gorran of Delray Beach participated in the national pastime and sued the Atkins folks after his cholesterol shot up from 146 to 230. Gorran felt pain in his chest in the fall of 2003 and underwent an angioplasty to unclog one of his coronary arteries, according the suit. (You may remember the Atkins Diet - carbohydrates like pasta and bread are bad for you and protein is good for you.) The judge said that the Atlkins diet consists of only "advice and ideas" that are protected by the First Amendment.
General Tom says, if you eat too much you will gain weight. If you eat less, you will lose weight. Also it seems that the brain needs carbohydrates.

I WANT MY ABC

What John Kerry should have said is, "If you don't pay attention in school, you'll end up working for the FCC. 16 years in broadcasting and I doubted their very existance, until now.
I live in a part of the country where I cannot receive a local TV signal with ABC programming. This is not my fault. I should also mention that I have a 60 foot TV antenna at my house and I still cannot recieve a TV signal with ABC programming. I also have a Dish Network satellite dish and I pay a couple bucks a month to receive WABC out of New York. I see nothing wrong with this. Now, the local stations have succeeded in convincing the FCC that I should not be able to receive out-of-town network affiliated TV stations. Fine, but there's no ABC station around here!
Let's review some basics. The Federal Communications Act of 1934 said that the airwaves beling to the public. The broadcast stations are public trustees licensed by the FCC. If the airwaves belong to the public (you and me) why should we have to pay to receive TV reception? The answer, because we don't want to watch local infomercials, we'd rather watch movies, news, sporting events, etc. That's why we pay Dish Network and the cable systems...to give us what we can't get locally. I can't get ABC locally.
The problem is that these decisions are being made by people who live in urban areas where all of the major network tv programs are readily available on their local stations. Well, this kind of thinking doesn't play in Terre Haute, Indiana. My advice to the FCC, get a clue, and maybe a map.

Faith: Too Much Faith?

Faith Hill's reaction at the recent CMA Awards. She denies doing this. Click here to see for yourself. Do you believe her or do you believe your eyes?

Clooney's Max In Hog Heaven

They say he lived a log, full life. George Clooney's Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pig, Max has died of natural causes at the age of 19. 13 is considered old age for the species. Max had been through a lot. He was run over in a car accident and had been suffering poor eyesight and liver problems in recent years. Clooney gained custody of the 300 lb porker after his breakup with actress Kelly Preston, 13 years ago.
Clooney says that it's unlikely that he will replace Max.

Jessica, here's what really happened....

OK, before we all come down on Jessica Simpson, let me tell you that certain things are more difficult to do than they appear. I'm refering to the CBS network taping of the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday. Unlike most of Jessica's live performances, the audience was filled with many famous politicians, including her buddy, George Bush. Big name entertainers were there too. This can add some pressure, especially when you're used to singing in front of teenyboppers! Jessica was singing a tribute to honoree Dolly Parton - "9 to 5." You may notice, when you see the video, that Jessica was wearing a strapless gown. You're more likely to see the video on the internet than on CBS on December 26. All during her aborted performance you can see her left arm pressed up against her dress. Apparently she was having a problem and didn't want to do a "Janet Jackson." Now, about the lyrics...It isn't always easy to read a telepromter. Generally, practice makes it a little easier. I speak from experience. She forgot the 6 P's. The 6 P's are Prior Preperation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. (I learned this 100 years ago in the Army at AFN, Europe.) Remember that Jessica Simpson is what she is. She's a rare case of much more success than her talent warrants. How can this happen? Packaging, that's how! Basically, if you comb your hair right, you'll make it. Other high maintenance procedures come in to play here, too. Wonderful job! Now if you could use some of that money to buy some talent.....

Fisher Outsmarts Dungy

The Indianapolis Colts were favored to beat the Tennessee Titans, yesterday. Why? In their earlier meeting, this year, the Colts eked a one point victory in the warmth of the RCA dome among the hometown crazies. Put the same two teams outside in 45 degree weather, in Nashville, put Vince Young at QB with his wandering ways and you've got a game! Forget the QBs for a minute. The game is tied with seconds to go and Coach Fisher wants to attempt a 60 yard field goal. But the Colts have one timeout remaining. If the Titans miss the field goal, Manning takes over at mid field, throws a sideline pass to (insert a name here), CALLS TIMEOUT, the Colts kick a field goal and win! Jeff Fisher put his field goal unit on the field, then put his punting team on the field, then put his field goal team back on the field. Dungy was so confused, all he could do was call a timeout (his last in regulation) so that he would not be penalized for too many men on the field. A peanalty would have made a field goal attempt "easier." Brilliant! In Nashville they are calling this the "Music City Miracle."
If a team is hungrier and smarter...miracles will happen.