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Drew Brees

Terrence Copper is open but should I throw it to him?
Terrence Copper is open but should I throw it to him?

Bob McFlurry with Sports

I love Drew Brees and I mean that in the gayest way possible.  I’ve loved this guy since his sophomore season in 1998 at Purdue when he led the team on an 80 yard drive with 1:25 left on the clock and threw a 25 yard strike to Ike Jones (of a rival high school of mine) for the game winner against #4 Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl. I remember this distinctly because not only was that night the first time I had ever taken a flaming shot of Bacardi 151 and a neighbor had hit my car parked outside my friends house, but also the amazing statistic that Brees’ Boilermakers were only the second unranked team to beat a top 5 team in bowl game in history. It is still easily a top 10 College Football game I have ever watched.

Brees continued a storied College career earning Academic All-America Player of the Year as a Senior and garnering the Maxwell Award for the nation’s most Outstanding Player.  Drew also holds the record for the longest pass in NCAA history at 99 yards.

Brees was drafted by San Diego with the first pick in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft (San Diego drafted Ladanian Tomlinson in the first round).  Initially I was somewhat weary of Brees taking it to the next level given his 6 foot 190+ frame. The trend of high round QB’s drafted into the NFL was that of size and athleticism more so than cognitive function in the early 2000’s and to some extent continues today (See Jamarcus Russell).

However, Brees put my doubts to rest starting in 2004 in his 3rd year as the starting QB for the Chargers posting an insane TD to Int ratio (27-7), passer rating (104.8) and with Tomlinson led San Diego to a 12-4 record and their first playoff birth in 9 years.

Before that 2004 season though, the Chargers drafted Eli Manning, eventually trading him to the NY Giants in exchange for the rights to Phillip Rivers and several draft picks.  A protracted contract dispute between the Chargers and Rivers allowed Brees to be named started and enjoy a breakout year in 2004. Brees was a free agent at the end of 2004 and eventually would be lassoed with the Franchise Tag for the 2005 season.  Brees did go down late in the 2005 season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.

In 2006 the New Orleans saints took a chance on the once comeback player of the year and gave him a 6 year 60 million dollar contract. In 2006 he was named runner up to Tomlinson for the AP NFL MVP. The same year he took the Saints past the Eagles and into the NFC Championship game against the Bears. The next two seasons were not as good as the Saints fell back to mediocrity going 7-9 and 8-8 mostly due to defensive deficiencies. By this time though Brees had established himself as an upper echelon QB starting a Pro Bowl game. He fell 15 yards short of the single season passing yardage mark owned by Dan Marino.

All in all, Brees is, in my opinion, the second best QB in the NFL at this point behind Peyton Manning (yes above Tom Brady).  I think Brees will continue a torrid pace this year and win the AP MVP if another running back, Adrian Peterson, does not block him from it. It’s good to see that a QB of a smaller stature can thrive in the NFL given that most teams draft 6’4” athletic specimens to play QB but seem to forget that the QB needs to make decisions with the ball, not just throw or run with it.

Look for the Saints to beat the Giants this week and be a force to be reckoned with the rest of the season.

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Comic Irony at The NY Times

Bob McFlurry With Sports

I just read an article by N.Y. Times writer WILLIAM C. RHODEN on why he thinks a Yankees Vs. Dodgers World Series would be great for baseball. No doubt that would be appealing in the sense of America’s two largest markets and an East/West Coast dynamic to it but Rhoden seems to give odd reasoning why the matchup would be good for baseball.

“what Major League Baseball needs is a great World Series, a Series for the ages. And with all due respect to those two other potential matchups, it’s a Yankees-Dodgers World Series that could take the game back to its roots at a time when baseball desperately needs to recover a portion of the trust, if not the innocence, that it has lost in the steroid era.”

Mr. Rhoden, if you want to recover a “portion of trust” for baseball then why would you match up teams with marquee players that have been anything but truthful in their dealings with performance enhancing drugs. While Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettie are hardly the only players in the last 20 years to have taken and gotten caught taking performance drugs how do you figure  that those guys being in and winning a World Series is going to recover some innocence it lost in the steroid era? How would a Dodgers/Yankees matchup, “reinforces its roots and, yes, its relative purity”?

Trust, innocence, relative purity? What are you smoking Rhoden? I’m not going to argue a Dodgers/Yankees matchup would be good for ratings, but good for the game?

I think the Phillies beating the Yankees would be poetic in a year when A-Rod had to come out of the closet with his use of PED’s. A Phillies Vs. Angels series (while not having one of the big 2 markets involved) could have the makings to be one of the greatest series of all time given the way the teams play and the absence of a tainted marquee player.

Overall, don’t give me your purity, innocence and trust logic while debating on which teams should be in the series because the two teams you suggested, Rhoden, debunk your whole theory. I don’t know how you run your household but when a dog pisses the carpet, you don’t give him a treat.

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RIP Captain Lou Albano

smbsswq6Bob McFlurry With Sports

Maybe you’re a little young to remember Lou Albano the wrestler but you may remember him managing such wrestlers as former Intercontinental Champion Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine but Albano made more of a mark on managing tag teams. Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito, The Valiant Brothers, Wild Samoans, The Moondogs, and The British Bulldogs were a few of the teams he managed over the years. Overall he guided two dozen wrestlers to the Championships.

You may also remember Albano in a number of Cyndi Lauper videos including Girls just Want to Have Fun. Moreover, I remember Lou Albano best for his role as the real life Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! as well as lending his voice to the animated character. I can remember many a days coming home from school and watching this program.

He was inducted into the WWF/WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.

Some of the more notable names he managed were André the Giant, Hulk Hogan, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff and George ‘The Animal’ Steele.

Capitan Lou you will be missed.

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Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

231427By: Billy BeerSlugger

Originally a drink for lactating mothers, oatmeal stout was described as nutritional on early labels. Oats are in the same family as barley, and a small addition yields great flavor. Popular in the late 1800’s, the last oatmeal stout was brewed before the First World War until Samuel Smith reintroduced this style in 1980.

Easily one of my favorite stouts but a little higher on the alcohol at 5% ABV.  Not sure it’s worth the price around my parts though.  Got a case last week for $58.  Though I have no problem having a couple at the bar.

Overall goes on to prove the point to myself that the English know how to brew great ale’s and stouts.

Try pairing one with:

Pizza and salad, Italian foods, steamed clams, grilled ahi tuna, lobster with drawn butter, steak, eggs Florentine.

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Media Conglomerates

By: Billy BeerSlugger

I get really weary of these media conglomerates the bigger and bigger they get.

Clear Channel.

  • 900+ Radio Stations
  • Formerly owned 40+ TV stations
  • Owns numerous outdoor advertising billboards and Taxi Cab displays.

Analysis: You can’t turn a radio station dial without every other station being owned by Clear Channel.  You can’t miss billboards they own if you travel on major highways. If you live in a metropolitan area you have seen news and sports scores on top of taxi cabs.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp

  • HarperCollins book publishing
  • Elektra Records catalog
  • More than 150 Newspapers in Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, UK and Ireland and the United States.
  • Around 30 Magazines including GQ and Vouge.
  • 20th Century Fox (Film) and various other motion picture related entites
  • FOX Broadcasting Networks including FOX, Fox Business, News, Sports etc.
  • Fox International owns 120 channels around the world.
  • Social Network MySpace
  • Other online interests include RottenTomatoes.com (film review site), Photobucket.com, Hulu.com(45%)

Analysis: Murdoch has his hands in pretty much everything. You’re not going to read an upper echelon newspaper in print or online that Murdoch doesn’t own. Many argue his Fox News network caters to a Republican agenda. It’s nice to own the biggest film rating website when your company makes movies. Rupert’s MySpace status says “Mogul”.

Walt Disney: Here’s what’s in the Mouses’ house.

  • ABC Television Network  has 226 affiliated stations reaching 99 percent of all U.S. television households.
  • ESPN and their channels.
  • Disney Channel, SOAPnet, A&E, the History Channel, the Biography Channel
  • Disney owns 277 radio stations in the United States through it’s stake in Citadel Broadcasting Corp.
  • 6 Magazines including ESPN the magazine. Marvel Comics and their catalog of charaters.
  • Hyperion Books (publishing)
  • Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, Pixar and a host of Buena Vista companies.
  • The Disney internet group includes NFL.com, NBA.com, NASCAR.com ESPN.com ABC.com among others.

Analysis: Mickey and ESPN are pretty big.  ABC reaches just about everyone in the U.S. They will keep making movies with moneymaker Pixar and new acquisition Marvel Comics to just about corner the Comic Superhero market. Why does Disney control NFL.com and NBA.com? I was always a bigger fan of Donald Duck.

Viacom / CBS Corp.

  • TV Stations include: MTV, MTV2, Nickelodeon,VH1, Spike TV, CMT, Comedy Central, Palladia, BET, Showtime.
  • Paramount Pictures including: Dreamworks, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies.
  • MTV.com, VH1.com, Spiketv.com, ComedyCentral.com, Nick.com, Rhapsody.com (49%).
  • 140 radio stations
  • Publishing includes Kaplan, Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster, The Free Press, The Touchstone, Fireside Group.
  • CBS Network consists of 29 stations. CW Network (50%).
  • Video Game Developer Harmonix of Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Analysis: I linked Viacom and CBS Corp together because even though they split up in 2005 after merging in 1999, Sumner Redstone still controls 71% of the voting stock in both companies. The influence MTV has on the youth of America turning them into mindless consumers is amazing.  Shows on MTV end now and they roll a Beatles Rock Band clip during the credits (Subliminal Commercial).  Palladia is actually pretty awesome and should be called Music Television.  I’m not sure who has more power at any given time: Sumner Redstone or Rupert Murdoch?

TimeWarner

  • HBO, Cinemax, CNN, TBS, Warner Bros. Television Group, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies
  • Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock, Village Roadshow Pictures.
  • DC Comics (Batman + Superman)
  • People, Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune among a host of other magazines.
  • AOL, AOL.com, AOL Instant Messenger
  • Warner Music Group – one of the big 4 labels.

Analysis: After betting the farm on AOL and it not working out they have fallen off a bit.  Time Warner posted a $16.03 billion loss for the final quarter of 2008 which may lead it to sell of portions of it’s assets.

General Electric:

  • NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, Sci Fi Channel, Telemundo, USA, Oxygen
  • NBC Universal Television Distribution, Universal Media Studios
  • NBC Universal (80% ownership): Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Rogue Pictures. Universal has production agreements with Imagine Entertainment, Jersey Films, Tribeca Films, the Kennedy/Marshall Company, Playtone Company, Strike Entertainment, Type A Films and Working Title Films among others.

Analysis: Just read that Comcast Corp could be buying the NBC/Universal entertainment division from GE. This lead me to write this article. NBC has fallen off after the loss of must see TV, NBA games and Monday Night Football. Universal does come out with a lot of movies though. Telemundo always has hot chicks on there.

Overall Analysis:

With such a small amount of companies controlling such a vast amount of media it’s a wonder everything we see, read and hear on radio, newspapers and TV is so homogeneous.  When someone like Sumner Redstone or Rupert Murdoch controls a vast empire of media, if a person, organization/corporation or member of government could persuade them to report the news a certain way or handle specific stories in a particular light or influence them whatsoever from a journalism standpoint this country is seriously fucked.  Knowledge is power and if you are controlling the knowledge or twisting the knowledge a certain way for hundreds of millions of people you can influence elections, shape public opinion and government policy. We as Americans are guaranteed free speech and press but I don’t think that’s what we’re getting from our media conglomerates.  When so much money relies on advertising these companies are effectively at the will of the advertisers and in some ways, the government which has found ways to censor news without effectively taking a newscast off the air.

Democracy is only as good as the level of credible journalism in that Democracy.  I found a worthy cause for this issue calling for more diversity in media. Find out ways you can get involved at http://www.stopbigmedia.com/.

Look for more info on these conglomerates on http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main.

One of the best speeches on Media I’ve ever heard.
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Why I Dislike Keith Olbermann

Keith_Olbermann_-_small
I'm smarter than you.

By: Billy BeerSlugger

I never really had a problem with Keith Olbermann on Sportscenter when he teamed with Dan Patrick to put a soundtrack of zingers and one-liners to sports highlights.  He smiled, cracked jokes and seemed generally likable though still slightly smug.

I don’t really have a problem with Keith having his left wing show on MSNBC either.  He can have his “Worst Person In The World” and try to pick apart Bill O’Reilly or his Republican/Conservative opponent du jour every night and I’m fine with that, he’s got his right to do that within reason and I won’t be above saying he’s right from time to time.  He seems to have a general care about the country and it’s citizens which is a very respectable trait and one I happen to share with him.

What I cannot stand is Olbermann being on the Sunday Night Football panel.  I realize his background in sports broadcasting but if there’s one thing i don’t like mixed in with my sports it’s bullshit politics.  Not that he brings up politics on Sunday Night Football, but just knowing his priggish, self-righteous ass is a mouthpiece for a left sided network pains me to no end.  For the record I would hate to see Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly or Rush Limbaugh as an anchor on a sportscast as well.  You do remember how long Limbaugh lasted as an ESPN commentator in 2003?

You don’t see Chris Berman have a show and plug a Republican agenda or Bob Costas stray from sports leaning stories on his show. You have to pick what you are, sportscaster or political pundit; there’s no gray zone here.  I don’t care if a sportscaster comes out in support of an issue or political candidate but don’t make a whole show about it and further, don’t be a condescending asshole about it.

Olbermann sits himself behind a desk on weeknights and pretends to be a modern day Edward R. Murrow (he won the Murrow award in 2003).  However he does it with a sharp tongue and an “i’m smarter than you”, egotistic tone that makes me want to throw my laptop off my desk.  I won’t pretend to write as eloquent as Keith or tear into an issue with the same smarts and vigor but give me a staff of capable people and a full time salary and I have no problem devoting 10+ hours a day into pumping out content that’s informative and stimulating.

What makes Olbermann so smart anyway?  He claims to have gone to an Ivy League school (Cornell), however, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications arts from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, not the School of Arts and Sciences which is the Ivy league one.

In an interview with Playboy Magazine Olbermann was quotes to say:

“My Ivy League education taught me how to cut corners, skim books and take an idea and write 15 pages on it, and also how to work all day at the Cornell radio station and never actually go to class.”

Obviously lying about going to the Ivy League Cornell isn’t a big deal to folks like you and I, but for a guy who wastes valuable airtime to nit pick at Rep. Charlie Rangel for saying ‘inferred” instead of “implied” it seems relavent to nit pick at him.  Oh, wowzers Keith, got him on that one.

Seriously though, tone and inflection are big parts of broadcasting and no doubt were covered during his matriculation at non-Ivy league Cornell studying Communication Arts.  You would think he would have taken from that education that if you come off as a pompous arse and a know it all that you would actually have to back it up with a little more than a Communications degree and several stints as a sportscaster spouting lines like “Booya”! Where is the credibility with this guy?  Half the time he’s making inane grammar corrections or subjective comments on subjective comments from Senators, Representatives or right wing personalities. 30% of the time he’s dealing in absolute bullshit and the other 20% is reserved for stuff that actually does matter whether it’s biased or not.

I’m not saying that Olbermann is a bad person because he’s better than most of the talking heads out there but I wonder sometimes if he’s at least subconsciously trying to be the smartest guy in the room nation to show up the kids who repeatedly stole his lunch money in grade school.  That’s been my experience at least, either the overzealous person is overcompensating because they are constantly dealing with their own insecurities which can include a host of things including height, weight, perception of beauty or lack of breast or penis size.

Basically he’s the guy sitting at the end of the bar drinking alone because of his lack of people skills. He’s pissed off all his friends and most of his acquaintances who aren’t blinded by his B-list stardom.

But then again… i could be wrong.


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2012 – Not A Space Odyssey

By: Billy BeerSlugger

Hasn’t this movie been done a couple of times before?  Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow ring a bell to anyone? End of the world by: Aliens, Global Warming and now The Mayan Calendar?  It’s a shocker that all three of these movies were directed, written and produced by Roland Emmerich.  The man seems to have a lock on “End Of The World” scripts in Hollywood.  I’m wondering if he has a wheel that goes around like The Price is Right and whatever doomsday scenario he lands on, that’s his newest movie.

The film will probably get panned because this isn’t 1996 and blowing shit up in CGI just doesn’t have the same effect on people as it did back when Bill Clinton was banging chicks in the White House.  And Amanda Peet has bangs?  What the fuck is up with that?

Anyway, I’ll probably get roped into watching this movie at some point and I think I’ll rather enjoy watching a fake California fall into the ocean.  That’s definitely going to happen in real life at some point too only John Cusack isn’t going to be able to drive a car and fly a plane through falling buildings to get out alive.

I’d like to give you more info on the Mayan Calendar but the Phillies are about to play the Rockies and this broad already gives a synopsis on a Youtube video.  She actually won an Emmy for it which is unbelievable because I didn’t know they gave out Emmy’s to Youtube videos.   I’ve had a crush on her for a couple of months and her mammoth breasts.  She (they really because I doubt she actually writes most of the shit) actually come out with some pretty cool content from time to time as well. Kind of like BeerSlugger.com only better looking and with bigger tits.

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Lady GaGa Topless

I'd probably Poke Her Face
I'd probably Poke Her Face........... Sexually that is.

By: Billy BeerSlugger

This is goign to be a pretty small post.  I wouldn’t call myself a Lady Gaga enthusiast but I do enjoy naked women.  Plus I do have a dance for Poker Face. I feel it’s my duty to inform you of naked celebrities.

Here’s the hermaphrodite topless in V magazine.

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa Poker Face

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa Poker Face

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa Poker Face

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa Poker Face

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa Poker Face

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa Poker Face

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa Poker Face

Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa Poker Face

Yes it’s Sunday and I’m wasted. What are you doing?

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The Inside Track with Landon Brang: 10/2/09

We at Beerslugger.com strive to bring you excellence (or as best we can) in everything that we do. That is why we have fired Sam “Ace” Rothstein after an abysmal start. We now proudly present Landon Brang whose life story movie “2.1 For the Money” is due out any day! On to the picks……

Washington St + 35 over Oregon

Simple – Washington St is not this bad and Oregon is not this good. The ducks have no right to be laying 5 TDS to anyone and that includes Billy Beerslugger’s Thanksgiving Day team. I was all over Washington St last week catching 45 from USC. This line is bet up because Oregon has won 3 in a row and dismantled California. Let down game for the Ducks.

Central Michigan -8 over Buffalo

How can a team that just got smacked by Temple be only an 8 point dog to the best team in the MAC for the last 4 years. I have won more money on Dan Lefevour than any other player ever. There is no way as a senior this guy loses to Buffalo. Chippewas win by 3 TDs.

Denver +3 over Dallas

Dallas is coming off a Monday night win banged up and must travel to the thin air of Mile High Stadium. Denver’s defense is good and can stop the Cowboys stagnant offense. Kyle Orton has done a good job managing games and I think whoever wins the Turnover battle wins this game.

Chicago and Detroit over 39

Jay Cutler throws all over the Detroit secondary that is giving up close to 300 yards passing a game. Detroit has shown it can move the ball averaging 20 points a game. Look for this one to go way over the total.

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Taking a Dump on Mass Media

One World at the Will of The Advertisers
One World at the Will of The Advertisers

By: Billy BeerSlugger

A lot of the media is making a big deal over President Obama’s trip to Copenhagen in an effort to lure the Olympics to Chicago. Seriously, who gives a shit.  If no one is going to make a big deal over his going on The Late Show with Dave Letterman then why is this a big deal?  There’s a lot of bullshit coming at us from all angles.

Yes the President should be focused on bettering the country and the economy and the wars and all that stuff but it’s not like there’s not a computer on Air Force one.  If thousands of people take the train to work everyday for an extended period of time and get work done don’t you think that the friggin President of The United States would be able to pull off the same?

With the 24 hour news networks trying to fill time this is what they decide to poke Obama on? There’s a poll on it, the news networks have a 4 panel discussion on why they think it is or is not a good idea. Again, who gives a fuck? Then you have the millions of real internet news sources as well as the fake ones (like BeerSlugger.com) debating the shit out of it too.

Everything the President does is held under a microscope and rightfully so but does everything need to be debated to death?  Does absolutely everything need to be reported on? The 24 hour Cable News Networks much like the 24 Hour Cable Sports Networks absolutely beat things to death that 5 or 6 years ago wouldn’t have seen airtime.  It’s getting to the point where in the future we may get Newsflashes that Obama is taking a dump.  Just like we got updates on Mike Vick being in pads and practicing or Mike Vick getting into a game and throwing two passes and running twice for a total of 7 yards.  Sportscenter usually shows stats on people who do well or at least actually start the game, but not in Mike Vick’s case, it doesn’t matter what he does or if he gets in the game at all they still report on him. I remember back in the late 90’s when ESPN would give you Dick Trickle’s back of the pack finish in a NASCAR race just because he had a funny name.  It’s getting to that point where a player can be an absolute non-factor in a games and still get mainstream media attention.

Now if you have read any of my prior stories on the Mass Media you know I’m not a big fan of what’s going on.  The news (the real news) was supposed to be fair, impartial and as objective as possible. Presenting all the facts and letting the audience decide which way to lean on a particular issue.  The ABC’s and CBS’s and NBC’s of the world used to be pretty good at this but now no one watches the World/US News on Prime Time Newtork TV or it’s just not a money maker therefore Networks have dumped these programs in favor of cookie cutter reality TV shows. It’s sad.

It’s gotten to the point that I’ve found a couple of internet sites that are trying to correct that, even if they’re not exactly mainstream.

Pro Publica is a site I really like: http://www.propublica.org/

It describes itself as “an independent non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.”  Their full time staff investigates stories and then gives them away for free to mainstream news outlets like 60 Minutes, CNN, USA Today, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and others.  Actually anyone is free to republish their stories so long as they are credited with the work and none of the content is changed (something I’m considering putting on BeerSlugger if I read a particularly good article). Pretty cool if you ask me and they have a multitude of Pulitzer Prize winning authors on staff. If I were a top flight journo trying to make a difference in the world without selling out to Corporate America this would be on a short list of places I’d like to work.

Another website I came across is http://www.spot.us/, also a non-profit. This website brings together citizens, journalists and news publishers and allows you to pitch a particular story to readers of the site who may donate money to see the story come to fruition and actually get published. The principal of crowd-funding and or crowd-sourcing are used here in a sort of grass roots effort to get better journalism to the masses. Also a pretty cool concept.

Overall, things aren’t going to get any better in my eyes in terms of how mass media handles and decides what is news and what isn’t. I already get 90% of my news from the Internet and I can see that number growing as TV News continues to be dominated by inane pundits and superficial stories.

Are you ready to do the same? Dan Rather is rather fed up with the bullshit on TV News and he’s taking CBS to court about it.

Rather:

“We have very large corporate interests working with powerful political interests to manipulate the news and the people who report the news, whatever their political persuasion. I don’t think the American people want them, and what I have been seeking to do in this trial is to bring out the facts.”