News-Record.com

I agree - Too many ill-informed (or informed and spinning so much it makes one ill), unqualified, and overpaid troubadours out there!

I agree with this letter but would point out that there are also conservative movie stars who also speak out politically about things they don't know much about.

JDR, is this the always called for "conservative" LTTE in the N & R?

I hope some of the "usual suspects" note and post on this one! That is if "conservative" comments can be made on Mike "the rat" Krzyzewski!

Shalom

"...some of whom might have a high school education. They've never been briefed on, lack any close experience with, and are certainly not experts in, world affairs."

Am I the only one who has issue with Mr. Hunt's assumption that he knows what educational level these people have, what they've been briefed on, have experience with and are experts at? He also assumes that Krzyzewski is "better educated, informed and qualified............" when, in actuality, he probably does not know what HE is talking about.

Sounds to me like just another way to take a swipe at liberals.

Yvonne,
You are right on the target. I know Clyde Hunt, and he is VERY over the top conservative, right wing. His wife, was mentioned and quoted in "Bitter Blood" by Jerry Bledsoe.

As to the Duke Scandal: Nothing good can come of it in any way. Someone's reputation has been sullied, whether it is the dancer, or the accused, or the University.
As for coach K...how does he get food into that hole? Anyone ever see Mr. Ratburn on the PBS cartoon "ARTHUR"? They must have modeled that on Coach K.

yellowdog,

Who are the conservative movie stars that speak out on political matters? None come to mine to me off-hand. The ones mentioned by Mr. Hunt seem to get much more press.

How's things going there at Wake, Demon? Have you thought of those radical professors' names at The Citdel yet? Were you there for a debate? Kinda hard on Coach K there aren't you? I'm no fan of his, but he doesn't deserve the trashing that you handed out, but then you do that to about everyone behind your DD moniker that you don't like, don't you? Have the courage to use your real name if you are going to trash people all of the time like that, or would that cause you problems with your superiors at Wake?

Oak,
Sorry you once AGAIN, have my identity wrong. I thought I was Dave Hoggard?
If you didn't catch my post earlier, I would never subject people to getting calls from nutcakes just because I put their name in posting. Sorry, but you'll just have to get over that.
As for your taking up for coach K, it is good natured kidding---like when Duke students referred to the "Prexy's nose" (Nixon) in a good natured barb at former President Richard Nixon, who was also a Duke Law School Alum.
Hope you had a great fourth of July!

You are correct Clyde that the media seeks out the opinion of celebrities and quotes them as if they were world leaders. (Perhaps this is one reason for the declining readership that they are experencing?) My opinion is that the majority of the voting public is aware of the fact that they are just that-celebrities- lest we would have Tim Robbins as the president and Danny Glover as the veep.

Conservative celebrities include Kelsey Grammar (sp?), Gary Sinise, and Ted Nugent. Of these three, Nugent is by far the most outspoken, but neither get (nor do they seek) the attention that Sean Penn or Barbara Streisand attracts when they speak of politics. I personally wish all of them would shut up and do what they know how to do: Act or sing.

Oak,

As JR mentioned there are quite a few. Also, Charlton Heston, Bruce Willis, Britney Spears, Chuck Norris, and Ben Stiller have made statements in the past. (I'd add Arnold but then he is a governor,now.)

I agree that the majority of outspoken actors tend to be liberals and tend to be more outspoken.

I just think the writer undermined his credibility when he took a swipe at liberals as if they are the only ones doing it.

Do Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reily, Coulter, & Ingram count? afaik, they are "conceded" by fellow blogers to be bloggers, and I would argue that their one-sided-ness may give them access to one-sided briefings, but in general they "lack any close experience with, and are certainly not experts in, world affairs. Yet, their ... opinions on high-level and very complicated matters are printed and broadcast nationally as though they are experts."

typo:

... they are "conceded" by fellow blogers to be ENTERTAINERS ...

imho, they are just plain "conceded" too!

jdr,

I agree, they are 'conceded'!

Good point. Didn't think of those folks right off the bat but I do wonder about their credentials as well.

Demon Deacon,

Yes, I did mistaken you for Dave Hoggard at one time. My apologies to Dave.

You have yet to fully deny that you are Professor Smith at Wake Forest, who is a liberal and debate coach. He uses Demon Deacon as a blog identity, and some of the comments that you have made could lead one to believe that you are one and the same.

I'm sure that you don't want to reveal the names of the people at Citadel, as the conversation never really happened. If it had, they should be willing to admit that they called the President a draft dodger and a chicken hawk. To not admit to that would be cowardly of men that have served in the military, wouldn't it?

ORR,

Just wondering...are Oak and Ridge your first and middle names? Is Runner you last name?

JDR, I don't think your comparison with Rush, Hannity (notice you left out Colmes), O'Reilly, Ingraham, and Coulter to left wing Hollywood celebs is accurate.

First of all, I have never seen any of them acting in a film or singing in a concert. (Hannity sponsors Freedom Concerts to benefit children of fallen soldiers, been to one before, but he didn't sing).

I also don't agree with your statement that they lack experience in world affairs. That is their job after all.

Do you think Rush or Hannity shows up for their broadcasts without any preparation? Some of these people are authors, that too requires research.

Who do you think knows more about world affairs, Bill O'Reilly or Natalie Maines?

I think you just 'dis them as being merely entertainers because you don't like their point of view.

Yvonne,

Good point.

Dan:

First off, I'm very jealous of your trip - I haven't been to Europe in over 10 years. (Hopefully Greece next summer.)

I dis' them as mere entertainers because that's what other so-called conservatives frequenting this blog have frequently called them.

My gut feel is the Rush & Hannity types are more "prepared" ... and chuckling all the way to the bank.

My gut feel is the "other Hollywood types" are much more sincere, with genuine tears at the monger of our country.

All that said, I was pretty disgusted with Sheehan's July 4th statement

Mr. Oak Ridge Runner,
Hope you don't run out and try to become one of those carnival barkers who tries to guess the age and weight of people. It has really been tough on you lately with your 'guesses' at my identity. You are now 0 for 2. I am not Professor Smith, nor do I teach at Wake. The debate coach at Wake used to be Allan Louden, but I am not sure who it is now. Louden took Wake to #1 in the NCAA and many top five finishes.
As to your crass dismissal of the Citadel story, once again you are mistaken. It happened and frankly it surprised me tremendously. You could have knocked me over with a feather when the conversation turned to the war and the words "chicken hawks" and "draft dodger" were used to describe the Bush war machine. The most contempt shown was for Rumsfeld, Cheney and Wolfowitz.
Hope you have a great day, Mr. Runner.

JDR, I'll be thinking about you. Going on a cruise. Arrive St. Petersburg, Russia. Visiting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, and Norway. Probably my last post for awhile. You guys take care.

BTW, answer my question. I don't care about who is running to the bank and who "feels" more than someone else. Here it is again. Who knows more about world affairs, Bill O'Reilly or Natalie Maines?

I may keep the computer on long enough to read your reply.

Well clearly Bill O'Reilly .. but if he pulls your chain all the time, of what value is that?

I'm not going to Natalie Maines for info - but what Bill say's is so full of spin, it's close to worthless too.

Having fun with Bill, a man in touch with facts that are "easy to define" ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV-VHBH7bl4

James,
That is no doubt, one of the funniest things I have seen lately!
O'Reilly is such a windbag. At least three times a week, Keith Olbermann catches old Bill in a blatant lie like the one you linked. He presents everything he says as fact, and unfortunately a lot of HIS audience believes him!
Thanks again for that link....too funny.

Keith who? Oh right, that's the guy who comes on the same time O'Reilly does and about 20 people across the fruited plain watch him. Yeah, I remember Keith!!

JDR, I would rather watch O'Reilly pull chains than watch Larry King induce the Ambien effect or Natalie Maines figure out what the capital of Texas is.

You guys have fun hashing out world events. I'll miss you (that includes you DD).

Dan,
You are behind the times. O'Reilly's ratings are in the crapper except for the 65 -80 year old demographic. Olberman's ratings have skyrocketed after lower first quarter, and now his 8:00 PM show is rebroadcast at 9:00 AM the following morning.

First: http://mediamatters.org/items/200606280009

Second:
http://www.blogfordemocracy.org/archives/2006/03/the_fox_police.html

O'Reilly is a great entertainer, but that's about all.

Be careful over there--believe me, it's a jungle!

For all the VETS who have known war---this one's for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM_yMT5V8SI&search=O%27Reilly

Who can defend O'Reilly when he claims something false, is true?

JDR,

I guess Natalie Maines does know more than Bill O'Reilly! Who would've thunk it!

I hope they have Larry King or MSNBC on the flight from Dulles to Copenhagen. It will help me sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Nice source DD. A blog with a whopping 8 responses, the last one posted three weeks ago. I knew there were 8 people in this country who didn't like O'Reilly!!

Dan,
Hate to burst your bubble, but here's somemore on the ratings......

This may come as some surprise to Bill O'Reilly who, in a moment of empathy for his competition at MSNBC, started a petition to replace Keith Olbermann with former MSNBC host, Phil Donahue. O'Reilly felt sorry for what he said was the net's poor performance. Never mind that Olbermann's show drew more viewers than MSNBC's conservative hosted shows. And I certainly doubt that Bill was just being indignant because Keith was being mean to him on a nightly basis. Now Bill has to swallow the difficult truth that Keith's viewership is growing while his own is shrinking. In the key demographic group of viewers aged 25-54, the Total Day ratings for MSNBC rose 47% while Fox declined -13%.

Fox's Prime Time erosion was even greater at -21%. In fact, in every hour in the daypart, from 3:00pm till midnight, Fox numbers were lower. This is a distinction that only Fox, of the five nets surveyed, was able to achieve.

The largest decline was suffered by Greta Van Susteran's On The Record (-22%), followed closely by O'Reilly (-21%). Hannity & What's His Name took the Bronze (-17%). Of the MSNBC programs opposite those losers, Olbermann's Countdown was the biggest gainer (55%), which I'm sure doesn't bother O'Reilly at all.

The growing feud between Bill and Keith is something unique in commercial television. It has taken on a personal tone that I can't recall witnessing before. There is, however, a difference in style. While Olbermann is merciless in his mockery, he sticks to commenting on the substance of O'Reilly's program and the stupid or demonstrably false things that O'Reilly says. Billy, on the other hand, seems to respond only by pointing out that more people watch his show than Olbermann's. You know, the 2 million flies defense. But if O'Reilly isn't careful, he may soon not have even that to crow about.

Tags: Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann, Media, Media Reform, News Corpse (all tags)

I'll give you one thing about Natalie Maines DD. I would rather sleep with her than O'Reilly. That's enough, I'm outta here!!!

I didn't know about Olberman ... he is relentless, too bad the O'Really types are somehow numb to valid critism.

I found changing the transcript to be especially troubling - afaik, those corrections are suppose to be done with an SIC and maybe an Editors Note.

ALSO obviously Dan doesn't know about youtube - which is one of the hotter internet phenoms, with 35,000 new videos added per day (no wonder so few comments), and I think the Big Guys surf it hard, looking for new video-producer talent.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1755072,00.html

Dan: I know you're "gone", you lucky duck, but this is what I mean when I "accuse" you of being overly simplistic - dig deeper brother. You can wait until you get back, invite me over for a debrief - I'd really love to see the pics!

I can't stand watching Bill O'Reilly. He's just too obvious about the fact that he is full of himself. He actually annoys me more than Rush. It's not that I don't agree with some of the things that they both say, it's just their on-screen personas make me want to go puke.

I still think they all say what their listeners want to hear. Don't believe they believe a word they say. Money in the bank. Use fear, hate, judgment, or whatever it takes to keep the fans.

Yvonne and Deamon Deacon,

Yes, I am a conservative, and fortunately the majority of us productive members of society are. No, my lovely wife was not quoted in "Bitter Blood." That must have been another Hunt. If you know me as you claim, you would also know this.

Remember, only in this great country can we bantec and debate diverse opinions in a civil manner without fear of government reprisal.

Clyde

P.S. She wasn't a "dancer," she was a "stripper," paid to take off her clothes in front of dozens of men. However, if it is proven in a court of law, with a preponderance of irrefutable evidence, that she was raped, the perpetrators should receive the maximum sentence, period.