A TV DoubleStandarddradnatSelbuoD !

So,...last night on Fox's "The Family Guy," a comment was made about plastic covers on the furniture and how the Griffin family doesn't "want to live like those Italians."

Now, since the Trekmedic is of Italian heritage, he takes exception to such a negative stereotype!

Where,...oh, where, is Monsignor Alberto Sharptoni, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Punditry, to stand up and defend the rights of all Italian-Americans.

Where is Giuseppe Jacksonetti, and his horde of thousands of protesters, calling for the heads of anyone associated with Fox and/or "The Family Guy?"

Oh, yeah.....a side benefit of being an Italian-American,...we're secure enough in our own skins not to let a simple joke get the better of us!

Yeah,..I know,...its an Imus:




But its still fun to watch liberals squirm! (And most liberals won't get the sight-gag, either!)

A Phillies-Only TrekPoll

This poll is closed due to lack of participation.

Shrillary to Become Even More Shrill?

Carl Bernstein Prepping Unauthorized Bio on Hillary Clinton

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Drawing on a trove of private papers from Hillary Clinton’s best friend, the legendary Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein is going to publish a hard-hitting and intimate portrait of the 2008 presidential candidate, which will reveal a number of "discrepancies" in her official story.

Bernstein, who was played by Dustin Hoffman in the film "All the President’s Men," has spent eight years researching the unauthorized 640-page biography, "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton."

“Bernstein reaches conclusions that stand in opposition to what Senator Clinton has said in the past and has written in the past,” said Paul Bogaards, a spokesman for Knopf, which publishes the book on June 19.

With the thoroughness for which he is famous, Bernstein spoke to more than 200 of Clinton’s friends, colleagues and adversaries. He stops short of accusing the New York senator of blatantly lying about her past, but has unearthed examples of where she has played fast and loose with the facts about her “personal and political life”, according to Knopf.

The book could revive the explosive charge, made earlier this year by David Geffen, a former Clinton donor and Hollywood mogul, that “the Clintons lie with such ease, it’s troubling”.

Clinton remains the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, but Barack Obama, who is keeping pace with her fundraising juggernaut, is closing the gap in the polls.

The Sunday Times has learnt that Bernstein has been given unprecedented access to the private papers of Diane Blair, Clinton’s closest friend and confidante, who died of lung cancer aged 61 in 2000. The collection is still being sorted at the University of Arkansas library and is not yet available to the public.

Bernstein has been delving through Blair’s copious records of the 1992 presidential election campaign, which could offer tantalizing insight into Bill Clinton’s war machine and Hillary’s reaction to news of her husband’s dalliance with the nightclub singer Gennifer Flowers in Arkansas.

Hillary denied all knowledge of the affair, but one writer who has followed her career closely said: “She always knew about her.” He added: “Anyone who has approached the subject of Hillary Clinton with a clear eye will run across many examples of stories that are not true.”

Click here for the full story.

Live Long,...and Prosper

'Star Trek' Actor's Remains Set to Be Launched Into Space

If all goes as planned Saturday, the cremated remains of the actor who portrayed "Scotty" aboard Star Trek's starship Enterprise will sail into suborbital space aboard a rocket launched from the southern New Mexico desert.

Actor James Doohan's remains, along with those of Apollo 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper and about 200 others, are aboard the second private rocket scheduled to be launched at Spaceport America, a commercial spaceport being developed in Upham, N.M.

UP Aerospace Inc. of Farmington, Conn., launched the first rocket from the desert site in September. But that Spaceloft XL rocket crashed into the rugged desert after spiraling out of control about nine seconds after liftoff.

Company officials blamed the failure on a faulty fin design. A Spaceloft SL-2 rocket, with a fourth fin added for stability, will carry the cremains, which were loaded into the rocket last month.

Family members paid $495 to place a few grams of their relatives' ashes on the rocket. Celestis, a Texas company, contracted with UP to send the cremated remains into space.

Charles Chafer, chief executive of Celestis, said last month that a CD with more than 11,000 condolences and fan notes was placed on the rocket with Doohan's cremains.

Doohan died in July 2005, at age 85. The remains of Gene Roddenberry, who created "Star Trek," were sent into space in 1997.

Saturday's launch from the fledgling spaceport -- currently a 100-foot by 25-foot concrete slab in a patch of desert more than 50 miles north of Las Cruces -- continues to keep the New Mexico project ahead of its nearest competitor in the West Texas desert.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, is said to be developing a spaceport north of Van Horn, Texas. Bezos' Blue Origin is working to develop manned spaceflight for space tourists.

British billionaire Richard Branson also has announced plans to launch a space tourism company, which is expected to have its headquarters at the New Mexico spaceport.

Another Hole in Algore's Theory

Hurricane Forecaster: Oceans Cause Global Warming, Not CO2
Friday, April 27, 2007

DENVER — Hurricane forecaster William Gray said Friday that global ocean currents, not human-produced carbon dioxide, are responsible for global warming, and the Earth may begin to cool on its own in five to 10 years.

Gray, a Colorado State University researcher best known for his annual forecasts of hurricanes along the U.S. Atlantic coast, also said increasing levels of carbon dioxide won't produce more or stronger hurricanes.

He said that over the past 40 years the number of major hurricanes making landfall on the U.S. Atlantic coast has declined even though carbon dioxide levels have risen.

Gray, speaking to a group of Republican state lawmakers, had harsh words for researchers and politicians who say man-made greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming.

"They're blaming it all on humans, which is crazy," he said. "We're not the cause of it."

Many researchers believe warming is causing hurricanes to get stronger, while others aren't sure.

Gray complained that politics and research into global warming have created "almost an industry" that has unfairly frightened the public and overwhelmed dissenting voices.


The TrekMedic opines:

Boy,..is Algore gonna be pissed when he reads this!

Ropes and Trees and Legislators, ...Oh, My!

A few days ago, a typically-liberal crybaby took exception to one of the TrekMedic's posts, and the commentary left behind by an equally right-minded individual.

OK,...since the same-said equally-minded blogger went on to castrate the liberal crybaby, the TrekMedic would like to set a few things straight, as well.

In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to one's nation. A person who betrays the nation of their citizenship and/or reneges on an oath of loyalty and in some way willfully cooperates with an enemy, is considered to be a traitor. Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as: "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]." In many nations, it is also often considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aided or involved by such an endeavour.

Traitor may also mean a person who betrays (or is accused of betraying) their own political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, religion, social class, or other group to which they may belong. Often, such accusations are controversial and disputed, as the person may not identify with the group of which they are a member, or may otherwise disagree with the group leaders making the charge. See, for example, race traitor.

At times, the term "traitor" has been levelled as a political epithet, regardless of any verifiable treasonous action. In a civil war or insurrection, the winners may deem the losers to be traitors. Likewise the term "traitor" is used in heated political discussion – typically as a slur against political dissidents, or against officials in power who are perceived as failing to act in the best interest of their constituents. In certain cases, as with the German Dolchstoßlegende, the accusation of treason towards a large group of people can be a unifying political message.


The term treason is then further defined in the United States Constitution (you know, that document the dumb-o-crats use for toilet paper in the House these days)in Article 3:

Section 3 defines treason and its enforcement.

Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

The Constitution defines treason as specific acts, namely "levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort". A contrast is therefore maintained with the English law, whereby a variety of crimes, including conspiring to kill the King or "violating" the Queen, were punishable as treason. In Ex Parte Bollman (1807), the Supreme Court ruled that "there must be an actual assembling of men, for the treasonable purpose, to constitute a levying of war".

Under English law effective during the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, there were essentially five species of treason. Of the five, the Constitution adopted only two: levying war and adhering to enemies. Omitted were species of treason involving encompassing (or imagining) the death of the king, certain types of counterfeiting and fornication with women in the royal family of the sort that would call into question the parentage of successors. One important distinction is that the encompassing the death species of treason was most used by the English government to silence political opposition and was expressly excluded by the authors. In fact, James Wilson wrote the original draft of this section, and he was involved as a defense attorney for some accused of treason against the Patriot cause.

Now,..."Hanoi" Harry Reid is proposing legislation that calls for a timetable to withdraw our troops from Iraq. Think back to World War II: was legislation ever passed on a timetable to take Berlin or Tokyo, and then withdraw our troops?

NO!

Why? That would be given aid to our enemies! Not that Iraqi citizens are our enemies, but that Iraq is loaded with people looking to do harm to our troops!

OK, Marie,....(parenthetically speaking) Philly has plenty of trees, you supply the rope and I'll buy you the plane ticket!

A Congressional DoubleStandarddradnatSelbuoD ?

Color me shocked,....

House panel votes to subpoena Rice on Iraq

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic lawmakers voted on Wednesday to subpoena Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify about administration justifications for the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

On a party-line vote of 21-10, the House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee directed Rice to appear before the panel next month.

Republicans accused Democrats of a "fishing expedition." But Democrats said they want Rice to explain what she knew about administration's warnings, later proven false, that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger for nuclear arms.

"There was one person in the White House who had primary responsibility to get the intelligence about Iraq right -- and that was Secretary Rice who was then President George W. Bush's national security adviser," said committee Chairman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat.

"The American public was misled about the threat posed by Iraq, and this committee is going to do its part to find out why," Waxman said.


OK,...just so the Dhimmicrats (or Dumb-o-crats, take yer pick) remember:

If The Bush Administration Lied About WMD, So Did These People -- Version 3.0
by John Hawkins

Since we haven't found WMD in Iraq, a lot of the anti-war/anti-Bush crowd is saying that the Bush administration lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Well, if they're going to claim that the Bush administration lied, then there sure are a lot of other people, including quite a few prominent Democrats, who have told the same "lies" since the inspectors pulled out of Iraq in 1998. Here are just a few examples that prove that the Bush administration didn't lie about weapons of mass destruction...

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." -- From a letter signed by Joe Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara A. Milulski, Tom Daschle, & John Kerry among others on October 9, 1998

"This December will mark three years since United Nations inspectors last visited Iraq. There is no doubt that since that time, Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to refine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer- range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies." -- From a December 6, 2001 letter signed by Bob Graham, Joe Lieberman, Harold Ford, & Tom Lantos among others

"Whereas Iraq has consistently breached its cease-fire agreement between Iraq and the United States, entered into on March 3, 1991, by failing to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction program, and refusing to permit monitoring and verification by United Nations inspections; Whereas Iraq has developed weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological capabilities, and has made positive progress toward developing nuclear weapons capabilities" -- From a joint resolution submitted by Tom Harkin and Arlen Specter on July 18, 2002

"Saddam's goal ... is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed." -- Madeline Albright, 1998

"(Saddam) will rebuild his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and some day, some way, I am certain he will use that arsenal again, as he has 10 times since 1983" -- National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Feb 18, 1998

"Iraq made commitments after the Gulf War to completely dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, and unfortunately, Iraq has not lived up to its agreement." -- Barbara Boxer, November 8, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retained some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capability. Intelligence reports also indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons, but has not yet achieved nuclear capability." -- Robert Byrd, October 2002

"There's no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat... Yes, he has chemical and biological weapons. He's had those for a long time. But the United States right now is on a very much different defensive posture than we were before September 11th of 2001... He is, as far as we know, actively pursuing nuclear capabilities, though he doesn't have nuclear warheads yet. If he were to acquire nuclear weapons, I think our friends in the region would face greatly increased risks as would we." -- Wesley Clark on September 26, 2002

"What is at stake is how to answer the potential threat Iraq represents with the risk of proliferation of WMD. Baghdad's regime did use such weapons in the past. Today, a number of evidences may lead to think that, over the past four years, in the absence of international inspectors, this country has continued armament programs." -- Jacques Chirac, October 16, 2002

"The community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now: a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists. If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow." -- Bill Clinton in 1998

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security." -- Hillary Clinton, October 10, 2002

"I am absolutely convinced that there are weapons...I saw evidence back in 1998 when we would see the inspectors being barred from gaining entry into a warehouse for three hours with trucks rolling up and then moving those trucks out." -- Clinton's Secretary of Defense William Cohen in April of 2003

"Iraq is not the only nation in the world to possess weapons of mass destruction, but it is the only nation with a leader who has used them against his own people." -- Tom Daschle in 1998

"Saddam Hussein's regime represents a grave threat to America and our allies, including our vital ally, Israel. For more than two decades, Saddam Hussein has sought weapons of mass destruction through every available means. We know that he has chemical and biological weapons. He has already used them against his neighbors and his own people, and is trying to build more. We know that he is doing everything he can to build nuclear weapons, and we know that each day he gets closer to achieving that goal." -- John Edwards, Oct 10, 2002

"The debate over Iraq is not about politics. It is about national security. It should be clear that our national security requires Congress to send a clear message to Iraq and the world: America is united in its determination to eliminate forever the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction." -- John Edwards, Oct 10, 2002

"I share the administration's goals in dealing with Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction." -- Dick Gephardt in September of 2002

"Iraq does pose a serious threat to the stability of the Persian Gulf and we should organize an international coalition to eliminate his access to weapons of mass destruction. Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." -- Al Gore, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction." -- Bob Graham, December 2002

"Saddam Hussein is not the only deranged dictator who is willing to deprive his people in order to acquire weapons of mass destruction." -- Jim Jeffords, October 8, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." -- Ted Kennedy, September 27, 2002

"There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein's regime is a serious danger, that he is a tyrant, and that his pursuit of lethal weapons of mass destruction cannot be tolerated. He must be disarmed." -- Ted Kennedy, Sept 27, 2002

"I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force - if necessary - to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." -- John F. Kerry, Oct 2002

"The threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but as I said, it is not new. It has been with us since the end of that war, and particularly in the last 4 years we know after Operation Desert Fox failed to force him to reaccept them, that he has continued to build those weapons. He has had a free hand for 4 years to reconstitute these weapons, allowing the world, during the interval, to lose the focus we had on weapons of mass destruction and the issue of proliferation." -- John Kerry, October 9, 2002

"(W)e need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. We all know the litany of his offenses. He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. ...And now he is miscalculating America�s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. That is why the world, through the United Nations Security Council, has spoken with one voice, demanding that Iraq disclose its weapons programs and disarm. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but it is not new. It has been with us since the end of the Persian Gulf War." -- John Kerry, Jan 23, 2003

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandates of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them." -- Carl Levin, Sept 19, 2002

"Every day Saddam remains in power with chemical weapons, biological weapons, and the development of nuclear weapons is a day of danger for the United States." -- Joe Lieberman, August, 2002

"Over the years, Iraq has worked to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. During 1991 - 1994, despite Iraq's denials, U.N. inspectors discovered and dismantled a large network of nuclear facilities that Iraq was using to develop nuclear weapons. Various reports indicate that Iraq is still actively pursuing nuclear weapons capability. There is no reason to think otherwise. Beyond nuclear weapons, Iraq has actively pursued biological and chemical weapons.U.N. inspectors have said that Iraq's claims about biological weapons is neither credible nor verifiable. In 1986, Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran, and later, against its own Kurdish population. While weapons inspections have been successful in the past, there have been no inspections since the end of 1998. There can be no doubt that Iraq has continued to pursue its goal of obtaining weapons of mass destruction." -- Patty Murray, October 9, 2002

"As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." -- Nancy Pelosi, December 16, 1998

"Even today, Iraq is not nearly disarmed. Based on highly credible intelligence, UNSCOM [the U.N. weapons inspectors] suspects that Iraq still has biological agents like anthrax, botulinum toxin, and clostridium perfringens in sufficient quantity to fill several dozen bombs and ballistic missile warheads, as well as the means to continue manufacturing these deadly agents. Iraq probably retains several tons of the highly toxic VX substance, as well as sarin nerve gas and mustard gas. This agent is stored in artillery shells, bombs, and ballistic missile warheads. And Iraq retains significant dual-use industrial infrastructure that can be used to rapidly reconstitute large-scale chemical weapons production." -- Ex-Un Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter in 1998

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years. And that may happen sooner if he can obtain access to enriched uranium from foreign sources -- something that is not that difficult in the current world. We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction." -- John Rockefeller, Oct 10, 2002

"Saddam's existing biological and chemical weapons capabilities pose a very real threat to America, now. Saddam has used chemical weapons before, both against Iraq's enemies and against his own people. He is working to develop delivery systems like missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles that could bring these deadly weapons against U.S. forces and U.S. facilities in the Middle East." -- John Rockefeller, Oct 10, 2002

"Whether one agrees or disagrees with the Administration's policy towards Iraq, I don't think there can be any question about Saddam's conduct. He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do. He lies and cheats; he snubs the mandate and authority of international weapons inspectors; and he games the system to keep buying time against enforcement of the just and legitimate demands of the United Nations, the Security Council, the United States and our allies. Those are simply the facts." -- Henry Waxman, Oct 10, 2002

© Copyright 2001-2006 John Hawkins
eXTReMe Tracker Site Meter

Yes-s-s-s,.....!!!

Jessica Alba is FHM's Sexiest 2007 Winner!

Hey, Wosie, Don't Wet the Doo-ah Hit Youw in the Ass on the Way Out,...

'cause it might bweak the dooah!

Rosie O'Donnell leaving ABC's 'The View'

NEW YORK - Her tenure short but hardly sweet, Rosie O'Donnell said Wednesday she will leave "The View" in June after less than a year of feuds, headlines and higher ratings for ABC.

The opinionated host said she and ABC couldn't agree on a new contract — she wanted one more year, ABC wanted to lock her up for three. So she decided to leave, although she will appear occasionally next season for things like a planned one-hour special on autism.

O'Donnell made more than $3 million for her season on "The View." ABC was willing to spend more to keep her, but wanted a three-year deal so it didn't have to worry about O'Donnell as a potential competitor. She could easily command her own talk show for much more money: She was making some $30 million a year before "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" shut down in 2002.

"It just didn't work," she said on the show Wednesday, "and that's show biz. But it's not sad because I loved it here and I love you guys and I'm not going away."

O'Donnell has helped increase the chat show's audience by about a half-million a day. But her outspokenness has caused continual controversy, including a nasty name-calling feud with Donald Trump that placed "The View" creator Barbara Walters squarely in the middle.

"We have had, to say the least, an interesting year," Walters said. But she said O'Donnell's exit is "not my doing or my choice."

Walters was frequently left to clean up the damage after O'Donnell. She did it most recently Monday, when O'Donnell was criticized for using bad language and attacking Rupert Murdoch from the dais of the annual New York Women in Communication awards luncheon.

Saying she was "very fond" of Murdoch, Walters pointed out that "Rosie's view is not always mine."

In the Trump imbroglio, O'Donnell was reportedly mad that Walters did not come more swiftly to her defense, while Trump said Walters told him she didn't want O'Donnell on the show — a claim Walters denied.

Trump quickly went on Fox News Channel Wednesday to claim that O'Donnell was fired by ABC because of remarks made at the Women in Communications luncheon.

"Barbara's the happiest person in the world that Rosie's been fired," Trump said.

Cindi Berger, spokeswoman for both O'Donnell and Walters, denied Trump's claim, wondering how he would know what had happened in contract talks between O'Donnell and ABC.

Illustrating their dynamic, Walters blanched on Wednesday's show when O'Donnell teased her for complaining about blocked sidewalks near her home because of a visit by
President Bush. The war, Hurricane Katrina, illegal wiretapping didn't bother her, "but put up a barricade near Barbara Walters' house and there's hell to pay!"

"The Rosie-Babs relationship is like Prince Charles and Princess Diana's — fascinating and rather horrifying to watch, but ultimately not really good for any of the principals involved," said Debby Waldman, a regular watcher of "The View" from Edmonton.

Despite controversy — or maybe because of it — O'Donnell was good business for ABC, owned by the Walt Disney Co. Through mid-April, "The View" has averaged 3.5 million viewers since O'Donnell joined, up 17 percent over the same period last year, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Bill Carroll, an expert in the syndication market for Katz Television, said he's inclined to believe the explanation that it was a contract dispute that ended O'Donnell's stay. If ABC was fearful of what she would say, O'Donnell wouldn't be kept on the air until June, he said.

The timing of the announcement doesn't particularly suit O'Donnell if she wants to remain in daytime television. She wouldn't be able to introduce a new program to the syndication market until September 2008, he said. But the company that produced O'Donnell's long-running daytime show has expressed interest in having her back, he said.

O'Donnell has discussed acting on the FX show, "Nip/Tuck." But she has not decided what she wants to do in TV in the future, Berger said.

O'Donnell made headlines repeatedly for comments on "The View," and for testy exchanges with her more conservative partner, Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

She criticized "American Idol" in January for airing humiliating auditions. "Isn't that what America thinks of entertainment? To make fun of someone's physical appearance. And when they leave the room, laugh hysterically at them. Three millionaires, one probably intoxicated."

She accused fellow ABC daytime host Kelly Ripa of making a homophobic remark, said "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America" and has frequently been critical of President Bush. Asian-Americans and Catholics also have seethed over her remarks.

Her departure is a real challenge for "The View." O'Donnell was clearly the show's centerpiece, and she had replaced Meredith Vieira, who was effectively the moderator.

ABC needs someone well-known to step in, Carroll said. "It would be difficult, in my judgment, to try to replace Rosie," he said. "The best course of action would be to find someone who would be similar to what Meredith was."


The TrekMedic tallies up the score:

The winners in all of this:

• Elizabeth Hasselbeck
• Donald Trump
• Bill O'Reilly
• Sean Hannity
• Any American with an IQ bigger than their shoe size

The losers:

• Any TV exec dumb enough to give this harpy her own public platform again!!
  

The Latest TrekPoll Results

Who is your favorite Philadelphia Sports Team?

Barrage - 0 votes - 0%
Eagles - 3 votes - 12%
Flyers - 5 votes - 20%
Kixx - 0 votes - 0%
Phantoms - 1 vote - 4%
Phillies - 9 votes - 36%
Soul - 4 votes - 16%
Wings - 3 votes - 12%

The Rosie Award Goes to,....

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin!

New Orleans mayor calls his city cleaner than Philly
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin criticized the cleanliness of Philadelphia after a visit to the city last week. On Sunday, he apologized for his remarks.

"Let me tell you something. You ought to go to Philly and you will appreciate how clean New Orleans is," Nagin said Saturday to a crowd of New Orleans residents concerned about the city's recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

"Just go and walk around Philly a little bit and you will appreciate," Nagin said. " ... We still have some work to do but we definitely beat them by a long shot."

Nagin struck a different tone when he was in Philadelphia on Thursday, thanking the city for providing shelter to displaced New Orleans residents after the storm.

The mayor and officials of his administration came to Philadelphia to learn about the city's efforts to demolish blighted buildings and replace them with new developments.

"That was a big learning piece for us today," he said then.

On Sunday night, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia reported that a spokesman for Philadelphia Mayor John Street said Nagin apologized.

Nagin told the television station that he was trying to focus on the positive in New Orleans and its rebuilding efforts.

"I intended no disrespect to the City of Philadelphia," Nagin said. "We are truly thankful for the generosity of our hosts and look forward to a long, positive working relationship between our cities."


The TrekMedic wonders which smells worse: Nagin's bulls**t or New Orlean's Lower Ninth Ward!

"We ARE VT"

This post will remain until the end of the week as a memorial. All new posts will be below this.

Dark Days Ahead for the $15 Million Hooker?

Gail Shister | CBS evening blues
Katie Couric hasn't redeemed the No. 3 newscast. Can she survive as anchor?

CBS executives deny it, but there's a growing feeling within the network that Katie Couric is an expensive, unfixable mistake.

So unfixable that Couric - the first woman to anchor a network nightly newscast solo - may leave CBS Evening News, probably after the 2008 presidential elections, to assume another role at the network, CBS sources say.

Despite her A-list celebrity, her $15 million salary, and a promotional blitz worthy of a Super Bowl, the former star of NBC's Today has failed to move the Nielsen needle on No. 3 Evening News since her debut seven months ago.

In a bottom-line business like television, that's a cardinal sin. Already-low morale in the news division is dropping, says a veteran correspondent there.

"It's a disaster. Everybody knows it's not working. CBS may not cut her loose, but I guarantee you, somebody's thinking about it. We're all hunkered down, waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Seven correspondents, producers and executives at CBS and other networks interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity, given the sensitive nature of the Couric situation.

Couric and CBS were a bad fit from the start.

"From the moment she walked in here, she held herself above everybody else," says a CBS staffer. "We had to live up to her standards. . . . CBS has never dealt in this realm of celebrity before."

Media experts predict Couric's ratings won't improve anytime soon, given that news viewers tend to be older and averse to change.

Couric, 50, draws fewer viewers than did avuncular "interim" anchor Bob Schieffer, 20 years her senior. Much of the feature-oriented format she debuted with is gone, as is her first executive producer, Rome Hartman.

"The broadcast is an abject failure, by any measure," says Rich Hanley, director of graduate programs at the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University.

"They gambled that viewers wanted a softer, less-dramatic presentation of the news, and they lost. It's not fair to blame Couric for everything, but she's certainly the centerpiece and deserves a fair share."

CBS Evening News this season averages 7.319 million total viewers, down 5 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Couric's viewership has dropped nearly 30 percent since her Sept. 5 premiere week, when she averaged an inflated 10.2 million viewers and led CBS News to its first Nielsen win since June 2001.

In separate interviews, CBS News president Sean McManus and Evening News executive producer Rick Kaplan vehemently deny that Couric's future as anchor of the broadcast is in peril.

Couric "is the current anchor and the anchor of the future," McManus says. "Everyone at the network, from my boss [CBS Corp. president and chief executive Leslie Moonves] on down, is 100 percent behind her."

"Katie is the anchor until she decides to ride off into the sunset and do something else," says Kaplan, named e.p. March 8. "There is no one, no one, wringing their hands around here."

Others say CBS is in denial. "It's over. The only one who doesn't know it is CBS," says an executive at a rival network.

(snip)

Some predicted that Couric was destined to fail in her new position.

For starters, the 6:30 p.m. news and Today call for totally different skill sets. And those sets are not easily transferrable.

Couric's effervescent personality and expertise with live interviews and ad-libs were perfect for morning TV, particularly over a leisurely two hours.

(snip)

Contrary to popular opinion, gender is not an issue in the Couric situation, says Mediaweek.com analyst Marc Berman. "I give CBS a lot of credit for picking a woman. They just didn't pick the right woman."

Jennifer Pozner, executive director of New York's Women in Media & News, an educational and advocacy group, labels it "an infotainment issue."

"Couric came from Today, where bits of hard news are interspersed with diet tips and fall fashions." Had CBS hired Today coanchor Matt Lauer, the results would have been the same, Pozner says.

"Neither of them has the journalistic chops for the job. It's absolutely ridiculous that CBS wouldn't have predicted this."

(snip)

No surprise, then, that ABC's Gibson, 64, is now battling for first place with NBC's Williams, who turns 48 next month.

Connie Chung, 60, the last woman to anchor a network newscast, says Couric hasn't been in the chair long enough to get a fair shake.

"Six months? Good Lord, that's a blink of the CBS eye," says Chung, whose forced on-air partnership with CBS Evening News' Dan Rather lasted two excruciating years, until 1995.

"Katie should be given as much time as it takes. . . . I'm flabbergasted that anyone would sound some sort of death knell now."

(snip)

"She's trying too hard," Tyndall says. "She's overthinking her role. She's got to stand back. It's a very Zen problem. To be the face of Evening News, she's got to be self-effacing."

Self-effacing isn't the first adjective that comes to mind with Couric. She arrived at CBS with her own group of producers, bookers and assistants, which didn't sit well with the staff.

"She sees herself as a star and thinks the whole news department is here to serve her," says a longtime CBS correspondent.

Former anchors Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Schieffer "saw themselves as leaders of the journalistic team," the correspondent says. "We felt we were part of something bigger than we were."

That Couric, a widow with two young daughters, seems to be a magnet for bad personal publicity exacerbates newsroom anxiety over CBS's image and credibility.

Recently, the tabloids have been in a frenzy reporting that Couric's new boyfriend is 17 years her junior.

"Having an anchor humiliated in the tabloids detracts from the nature of news itself," says Quinnipiac's Hanley. Such coverage "is part of the whole matrix of things that have gone wrong at CBS."

Couric took another P.R. hit recently when it was revealed that her CBS blog, Katie Couric's Notebook, was written by a producer. The ghostwriting became public only when CBS fired the producer for plagiarism. (TM - The MSM making up news as it goes along?? No-o-o!)

Bob Steele, who teaches ethics at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, labels it "professionally and ethically deceptive" for someone to claim authorship of a piece if others contributed to the work.

"At the very least, this incident should be a loud warning bell for Couric and CBS," he says. Along with damaging credibility, using a ghostwriter gives less control of the material to the journalist who's responsible for it.

Given CBS's desire to brand Couric on every conceivable platform, "you have an individual who's spread too thin," in Steele's view. "She's exceptionally vulnerable."

(snip)

Nobody was more positive about Couric than CBS boss Moonves, the consummate showman, but observers agree that he oversold her - and that it was a major mistake.

By introducing a new (female) anchor and a softer, magazinelike format at the same time, CBS "scared people off," says an NBC producer. He would have waited six months before tinkering with the content, he says.

One of the early casualties was "Free Speech," a segment in which ordinary people as well as celebrities sounded off on various issues.

For many CBS News staffers, the nadir was a "Free Speech" segment Oct. 2, the day five Amish schoolgirls were murdered in Lancaster County.

The father of a child killed in Colorado's Columbine High School massacre in 1999 blamed the Amish tragedy, in part, on the teaching of evolution in public schools and on abortion.

Despite CBS's avowed intention to include all viewpoints in "Free Speech," the segment caused an uproar in the newsroom, according to CBS insiders.

"There's a difference between free speech and responsible speech," an embarrassed correspondent says.

It was another significant misstep in Couric's uphill climb to legitimacy, a trek that seems to grow steeper by the day.

Contact TV columnist Gail Shister at 215-854-2224 or gshister@phillynews.com.

K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K!!!!!

Hamels K's 15 as Phils down Reds
Left-hander posts first complete game as Philly evens series
By Brian Connors Manke / Special to MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- When addressing the dominant pitching performance he had just witnessed by southpaw Cole Hamels, manager Charlie Manuel said, "He pitched [an amazing] game. Super, man."

Did he mean "Super, man" or "Superman"?

"Either way," Manuel chuckled.

The effort was a career-high 15-strikeout near-masterpiece that guided the Phils to a 4-1 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 39,353 at Great American Ball Park.

"He had it all working tonight," catcher Rod Barajas said. "This is one of the best games I've ever caught.

"He didn't give them too much to hit, and when he did, it was after seeing two or three changeups in a row and then their bat speed was a little slower from seeing that," Barajas said of Hamels' ability to record the 15 strikeouts.

Manuel called a pregame team meeting Saturday to help resolve some of the issues that were plaguing the last-place Phils. Hamels believed it helped his mind-set taking the mound.

"With the motivation that we all had, I think it makes you relax a little more knowing that everyone else is going to be behind you, that we're going to play as one unit. It allowed me to execute my pitches and keep guys off-balance."

It was unlikely Manuel talked about turning triple plays in his pregame meeting with the team, but the Phils got exactly that as well to help Hamels out of a fifth-inning jam.

With runners on first and second, Reds catcher David Ross swung on Hamels' first offering, and grounded it directly to third baseman Abraham Nunez, who started the 5-4-3 around-the-horn triple play.

It was the first triple play turned by the Phillies since May 15, 1999, against the New York Mets.

"It was just what the doctor ordered," Manuel said.

"It was one of the most exciting things I've ever had happen," Hamels began.

"Just the way the inning was going -- no outs and having to bear down -- having that play just come out of nowhere was very helpful and so exciting at the same point, because I [figure] I won't have another one of those anytime soon."

"It saved me probably about 10 to 15 pitches, and I wouldn't have been able to go out in the ninth inning [without it]," Hamels said.

Hamels was able to stay in the ninth and get his first complete game in the Majors. He threw 115 pitches, allowed one earned run on five hits and walked two.

The 23-year old established himself as the Phillies' new ace now that Opening Day starter Brett Myers is working out of the bullpen. Hamels also thought the picture-perfect weather played a factor in his effort.

"The joy of being out there [made a difference], just because it's baseball weather," Hamels said of the evening that graced Cincinnati with a first-pich temperature of 72 degrees.

Batting leadoff for the first time this year, Shane Victorino opened the game with a single. Jimmy Rollins got aboard courtesy of a throwing error that pulled Brandon Phillips off the bag while trying to apply the forceout. A double steal by Victorino and Rollins set up Chase Utley's opportunity to knock them both in with a double off the wall in left-center, as the Phils quickly secured a 2-0 lead.

Utley also added a solo home run in the sixth before Aaron Rowand knocked his own 354-foot solo shot in the eighth to move the lead to 4-1.

Offensively, Manuel took note of the gamer Utley's performance.

"When we lose, Utley takes it hard. He could go 0-for-4, and if we win the game, that's fine. He could go 4-for-4 if we lose, and he'd be upset. He's that kind of player."

With the game being played in Cincinnati, Manuel even went as far to bring up some Reds history to gauge Utley's style.

"I used to think Pete Rose is one of the most hustling players I've ever seen. Utley, he's every bit as hard as Pete Rose was when you talk about hard play."

Hamels established himself from the top, striking out the side in the first. He added two more strikeouts in the second. His only mistake on the night was a home run by Reds first baseman Jeff Conine to start the second inning.

Brian Connors Manke is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Yet Another TrekPoll

This Poll is now closed. The results can be viewed here.

Thanx again!

It Won't Stop With Imus,....

Radio host Michael Smerconish to be simulcast on MSNBC in place of Imus

According to an April 20 article on Philly.com, the website of The Philadelphia Inquirer, "The Big Talker 1210 AM morning show of Daily News columnist Michael Smerconish is to be simulcast Monday through Wednesday on MSNBC." The article noted that Smerconish will fill the slot previously held by Imus in the Morning. MSNBC announced on April 11 that it would no longer broadcast Imus in the wake of comments made by host Don Imus on the April 4 edition of that show, during which he referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."

In addition to hosting his own radio talk show, Smerconish has been a guest host for MSNBC's Scarborough Country and Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, and has opined on a number of issues, including alleged detainee abuse, immigrants, and Muslims.

* On the June 20, 2006, edition of Scarborough Country, Smerconish trivialized reports of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, referring to the alleged abuse as "naked pyramid pictures." He also referred to alleged mistreatment at the Pentagon detention facility at Guantánamo Bay as "play[ing] Christina Aguilera music a bit too loud."

* On the April 10, 2006, edition of Scarborough Country, Smerconish suggested that "maybe law enforcement ought to step in" at pro-immigration demonstrations and consider "gathering ... up" illegal immigrants. Smerconish wondered why there was "zero discussion" of "gathering them up" at the demonstrations, when "[a]ll I keep hearing is how would we ever find them?" He then suggested that law enforcement officials are being hypocritical by refusing to "gather[] ... up" illegal immigrants because they would "step in and do something about" a rally of "pot smokers," who "wanted decriminalization" of marijuana, or "scofflaws" with unpaid parking tickets.

* Substituting for host Bill O'Reilly on the April 4, 2006, broadcast of The Radio Factor, Smerconish repeatedly discussed "the sissification of America," claiming that political correctness has made the United States "a nation of sissies." Smerconish also claimed, several times, that this "sissification" and "limp-wristedness" is "compromising our ability to win the war on terror."

* On the November 23, 2005, broadcast of The Radio Factor, while guest-hosting, Smerconish took issue with a decision by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to provide a designated prayer area at Giants Stadium. The decision was in response to a September 19 incident involving the FBI's detention and questioning of five Muslim men who were observed praying near the stadium's main air duct during a New York Giants football game. Smerconish stated: "I just think that's [the men's public praying] wrong. I just think they're playing a game of, you know, mind blank with the audience. And that they should know better four years removed from September 11." Smerconish defended the comments in an April 15 column, stating: "When five Muslim men in attendance at the Meadowlands in September 2005 for a Giants-Saints game that was also a Hurricane Katrina fund-raiser, with George H.W. Bush in attendance, saw fit to pray in an area near food preparation and air duct work, I think it was a case of mind blank. That's a form of terrorism in itself."

* On the November 23, 2005, edition of The Radio Factor, Smerconish interviewed Soo Kim Abboud, author of Top of the Class: How Asian Parents Raise High Achievers -- and How You Can Too (Penguin, 2005). Smerconish asserted that "if everyone follows Dr. Abboud's prescription ... you're going to have women who will leave the home and now get a great-paying job, because you will have gotten them well educated." He continued, "But then they're not going to be around to instill these lessons in their kids. In other words, it occurs to me that perhaps you've provided a prescription to bring this great success to an end."

Smerconish has also been a frequent guest on MSNBC's Hardball, where he has appeared on at least four occasions in March and April of 2007, including March 1, March 8, March 21, and April 5. Hardball host Chris Matthews declared on the March 8, 2006, edition of the program that "You talk to a huge audience on the East Coast, Michael. I've listened to you, all my family listens to you." As Media Matters also noted, Smerconish reportedly moderated a January 17, 2006, political event in Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Philadelphia Young Republicans and attended by Matthews' brother, who was then the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania. GOP gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann and Jim Matthews were defeated by Democrats Ed Rendell and Catherine Baker Knoll.


The TrekMedic cautions:

Make no mistake folks,...MediaMatters started the loudest push to get Imus off the air. This is now their latest smear campaign against a very popular conservative talk show host. They are nothing more than another element of the liberals' Fifth Column attempt to rid the airwaves of any conservative voices (a/k/a The fairness Doctrine) and anyone else who does tow the official Democratic Party line!

TrekMedic: Someone Tell Reid to Shut the F**k Up!

Reid: Someone Tell Bush the War in Iraq is Lost
Thursday, April 19, 2007

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday said the war in Iraq is lost militarily and "can only be won diplomatically, politically and economically" after more than four years of fighting.

"Now I believe, myself, that the secretary of state, the secretary of defense and you have to make your own decision as to what the president knows: that this war is lost, that the surge is not accomplishing anything," Reid, D-Nev., told reporters.

Repeating remarks he made to President Bush during a meeting of congressional leaders at the White House, Reid said the president is hearing only from people who are backing up his view of the war.

"I know I was the odd guy out yesterday at the White House, but I at least told him what he needs to hear. … I told George Bush what he needs to hear, not what he wants to hear, I did that and my conscience is great," said Reid, who was one of several lawmakers who met with the president on Wednesday at the White House. Reid added that more people need to tell Bush the same.

Reid's prognosis came after Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a surprise visit to Iraq and repeated remarks of a day earlier in which he said that Iraqi officials have to move faster in taking control of their country, including through political means. He added that America's military commitment is not open-ended.


The TrekMedic seethes:

More defeatist bulls**t from the legislative "leadership" of this country. Between Reid's big, fat mouth and Pelosi's brazen flaunting of the law, what we need are a few trials for "aiding and abetting the enemy" around here!

The Next "Rosie" Award Goes to,....

Alec Baldwin,.....

411: Caught on Tape: Alec Baldwin Calls Daughter a 'Rude, Thoughtless Pig'

Actor Alec Baldwin may be finding himself in very big trouble this morning. I mean, big trouble.

Baldwin is caught on TMZ.com on an audiotape recording of a scalding message he left for his 12-year-old daughter Ireland.

Click here to hear the message

Even though it’s obvious that Ireland’s mother, Kim Basinger, leaked the tape to the TMZ Web site — either Basinger or her lawyers — it may not matter. Baldwin’s screamfest at his only child has already caused a family court judge in Los Angeles to suspend his visitation rights temporarily.

Baldwin and ex-wife Basinger have been locked in a vicious custody and visitation battle over Ireland since the couple divorced in 2002.

Baldwin has regularly accused Basinger of playing games with scheduling. It’s a sore point, since he lives in New York and she lives in California.

But Baldwin’s scathing comments to his daughter on the phone message may be indefensible. Listening to the tape, you actually think he’s leaving a message for Basinger; there is hatred in his voice. Then you realize it really is Ireland for whom he’s left the message. The worst thing he calls her: “a rude, thoughtless pig.”

That’s not all. “I don't give a damn that you're 12 years old or 11 years old, or a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the a-- who doesn't care about what you do,” Baldwin screams into the phone. He then warns Ireland that he’s coming to Los Angeles today, Friday, and will “straighten her out.”

Baldwin is going to have to do some fast spinning to get out of this situation, especially if the tape starts getting airplay. There will likely be little tolerance for this kind of behavior, especially toward a child — and his own child, at that.

It certainly is hard imagining telling one’s own kid how angry you are because they — the child — has “humiliated” you by missing a phone call.

More from the call: “Once again I’ve made an a-- of myself getting to a phone to make a phone call … I’m tired of playing this game with you. You have insulted me for the last time …You’ve made feel like sh-- and you’ve made feel like a fool over and over again … I’m going to straighten your a-- out … You are a rude, thoughtless little pig.”

It’s a sickening turn of events for Baldwin, who’s had a great year career-wise between his supporting work in “The Departed” and his awards for the comedy “30 Rock.”

But something tells me that with the latter, NBC is not going to be very supportive of what sounds like a very abusive, not just disciplinary, father.

Update: As Baldwin's angry words to his daughter were being broadcast around the world, the 49-year-old actor explained himself Friday on his Web site.

"Although I have been told by numerous people not to worry too much, as all parents lose their patience with their kids, I am most saddened that this was released to the media because of what it does to a child," he wrote.

"I'm sorry, as everyone who knows me is aware, for losing my temper with my child. I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now. You have to go through this to understand. (Although I hope you never do.) I am sorry for what happened. But I am equally sorry that a court order was violated, which had deliberately been put under seal in this case.

"In such public cases, your opponents attempt to take a picture of you on your worst day and insist that this is who you are as a person," Baldwin wrote. "Outside the doors of divorce court, I have friends, I have respect from people I work with and I have a normal relationship with my daughter. All of that is threatened whenever one enters a court room."

Meanwhile, Baldwin's attorney, Vicki Greene, said she filed a court order Friday "to determine how the tape got leaked and to determine whether actions should be taken against Kim Basinger, or her attorneys, or Harvey Levin (who runs TMZ.com) and anybody else associated with the leaking of the tape and the violation of the court orders to keep the proceedings closed."

Greene told TV's "The Insider" that "anyone involved in this case should want to protect Ireland, so whatever happened was either intentional, reckless or negligent."

The matter is set for a hearing June 5, Greene said.

Basinger's attorney, Neal Hersh, weighed in the family saga Friday on TMZ.com.

"I am concerned that Mr. Baldwin's recent statement, wherein he attempts to shift responsibility to Kim and her lawyers for his issues with Ireland, shows just how out of touch he is with the reality and gravity of the situation," Hersh said.

Basinger's spokeswoman had no comment Friday.

And Sometimes, the TrekMedic Just Thinks,...

Blogs that make the TrekMedic think:

• Sillys**ts (Its not a pet name, dumbass - its reality)
  
• Akkam's Razor
• Atrios
• DanielUA and his band of Young Deluded Democrats
• MyDD

The Thinking Blogger Awards

The TrekMedic has been graciously mentioned for this award several times recently, and he has been remiss in not passing along a few tributes of his own:

Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme and know who thinks so highly of you!

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

That said,...the TrekMedic nominates:

• BobG at Sweet Spirits of Ammonia - Bob gives us an unfiltered view of the realities of the situation on our Southern border, as well as provides us with endless pithy cartoons.
• Mary at Freedom Eden - From the Mid-West, Mary fights the same urban battles against corrupt Democrats as the TrekMedic.
• AlexC, JK, and John Galt at Three Sources - 'cause three heads are better than one.
• Jessica's SwedeHeart Stories - thoughts on the sensual side of life.
• Wyatt at Support Your Local Gunfighter - Wyatt's views are his and not those of the Philadelphia Police Department. (Thank God,..that would be too boring!)
  

On the Subject of Our "Gun Culture"

In the wake of the tragedy that befell Virginia Tech this week, much has been made of the method Cho Seung-Hui employed - guns. Even one of our staunchest allies, Australian Prime Minister John Howard blasted the United State's "gun culture."

But the Trekmedic respectfully disagrees with the Prime Minister and instead pushes the blame on something more sinister and close to home, especially for us Philadelphians - "thug culture."

And the leading purveyor of "thug culture" comes down to the simple letters:

M....T....V

Folks, lets face it: our American culture is one of the dominant cultures exported throughout the world.

In many parts of the world, people's only exposure to the United States is through our music videos. MTV has franchises in just about every corner of the world.

Over the past decade, real music videos on MTV have been supplanted by videos by Radio Air Polluters (RAPpers).

Gone are the heady days of wonder, watching Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," or Genesis, with the help of comedy troupe Spitting Image, skewering the Reagan Administration on "Land of Confusion."

Gone too are the simple, Southern Gothic images of REM's "Losing my Religion," the comic soap opera of the Alicia Silverstone-starring Aerosmith videos, or the distilled rage of Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," which presaged the carnage at Columbine High School.

Instead, MTV now runs a steady stream of Radio Air Polluters as they promulgate a culture that can be easily defined as:

• Forget education: dealing drugs and engaging in other illegal activities are the keys to the kingdom.
• The one with the most toys wins.
• Women are objects: another "toy" to collect, abuse, and discard at their whim.
• American society is the enemy.
• GUNS SOLVE EVERYTHING - including eliminating your competition.

Now some readers will think the TrekMedic is painting the "hip-hop" culture with a broad brush. So be it. Many are falling over themselves to blame guns for the carnage at Virginia Tech.

But make no mistake about it: those 22 long-rifle and 9mm pistols didn't jump into Cho's hands and start firing by themselves. Cho Seung-Hui was a sick, twisted individual. He could have just as easily stolen a car and plowed it into a crowd of students, perhaps killing even more than 32. He had access to chemicals in the school's laboratories. A quick perusal of "The Anarchist Cookbook," or several similar tomes could have lead to an explosive device that could have killed hundreds.

Stop pointing your leftist fingers at the guns and start looking at some other root causes for these problems!

**That's My Opinion and You're Entitled to It!**

And Speaking of Loudmouth, Liberal Harbingers of DoubleStandardism,...

Rosie O'Donnell Cruise for Gay Families Cuts Bermuda Stop, Fearing Protests

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A summer cruise for gay and lesbian families organized by Rosie O'Donnell has cut Bermuda from its planned itinerary because of possible protests by church groups in the British island territory.

O'Donnell's charter company said it wanted to avoid the type of protests that greeted passengers when one of its cruises stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2004.

The tour is scheduled to leave New York in July on a ship owned by Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line. But the charter company, R Family Vacations, said on its Web site that it would replace the Bermuda stop with two other ports of call in Florida.

In the statement, the company said Bermuda's prime minister had assured them they would be welcome as tourists and they had also received hundreds of supportive e-mails from people who live in the wealthy British enclave.

Still, organizers felt they could not be certain there would be no protesters greeting them upon arrival. "We feel that our cruise would be more enjoyable with an alternate itinerary to ports where we know we are welcome by everyone."

In 2004, about 100 protesters chanting anti-gay slogans met one of the company's cruises when it arrived in Nassau, Bahamas, with about 1,150 passengers.

The TrekMedic ponders:

So,...Rosie is perfectly fine shooting her mouth off behind a TV screen, in a guarded studio, where no one can voice an opposing opinion to her. But she can't face it when her hate comes back at her full force?

Chickenshit!!

The First Amendment,...Only if its Our Opinion,...?

Judge Upholds Illinois School's Ban on 'Be Happy, Not Gay' Shirt
Wednesday, April 18, 2007

CHICAGO — Two Neuqua Valley High School students won't be able to wear T-shirts saying "Be Happy, Not Gay," to school on Thursday following a judge's ruling.

U.S. District Judge William T. Hart ruled in favor of the high school Tuesday in a preliminary injunction that would have allowed the students to wear the shirts the day after Wednesday's National Day of Silence.

On the Day of Silence, students can refrain from speaking as an effort to protest discrimination against homosexuals.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund is representing Heidi Zamecnik of Naperville and Alexander Nuxoll of Bolingbrook in a lawsuit that claims Zamecnik's rights were violated last year when she wasn't allowed to wear the shirt in school.

The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian litigation group, will appeal the judge's decision on the preliminary injunction to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, attorney Jonathan Scruggs said. The lawsuit is still pending.

Scruggs said the school is violating the students' rights to free speech by banning the shirt.

"The school cannot silence speech merely because some people find it offensive," Scruggs said. "We believe that's the core of what the First Amendment protects."

Jack Canna, an attorney for Indian Prairie Unit School District 204, said banning the shirt is part of a policy "to preserve the notion that kids shouldn't make negative or derogatory comments about other students."

Messages left by The Associated Press with the Indian Prairie Unit School District 204 and Neuqua Valley High School were not immediately returned Wednesday morning.


The TrekMedic notes:

Many will remember that a similar story in New England was posted here.

And this is what our children are learning in public schools these days??

Where in the World is,....Al Sharpton?

FOP wants rapping firefighter fired
With an apology for "pig" lyrics not immediately provided, a chorus of uniformed critics sings out.
By Jacqueline L. Urgo
Inquirer Staff Writer

The Fraternal Order of Police is burned up over a local firefighter's saying he wanted to "turn pigs into bacon bits" in the lyrics of a rap song he wrote.

So, in this post-Imus age, when the police union did not get the apology it was expecting yesterday, it called for the immediate firing of Rodney Jean-Jacques, 30, who moonlights as rapper Cal Akbar. Jean-Jacques remains on the payroll at Engine Company 9 in Mount Airy.

The matter is under investigation, according to Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers and a spokesman for Mayor Street.

Philadelphia Fire Fighters Union Local 22 said it was urging Jean-Jacques to issue an apology.

"As a result of the recent events concerning Philadelphia Firefighter Rodney Jean Jacques and his failure to apologize to members of the Philadelphia Police Department and Fire Department, as well as to the citizens of Philadelphia, the Fraternal Order of Police stands firm on our initial recommendation that he be dismissed from city employment," said Robert V. Eddis, president of Lodge 5 of the FOP, in a written statement.

As gunfire is heard in the middle of the song, Jean-Jacques raps: "I got a surprise for them cops. I hope the news is taping this, 'cause I'm gonna turn those pigs into bacon bits."

Firefighters Local president Brian McBride issued a statement calling the matter a disgrace.

"It is irresponsible and unconscionable to advocate harm to the very men and women who are prepared to do, and do, sacrifice themselves every day to protect our city," McBride said.

Jean-Jacques was not available for comment.

Contact staff writer Jacqueline L. Urgo at 609-823-9629 or jurgo@phillynews.com.


The TrekMedic adds:

What? No moral outcry from that harbinger of all that is good and fair and equitable in this country?

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

Well,..blogger finally caught up to me and made me change over to the new, improved, and utterly useless version of blogger.

BTW - nice of them to TELL YOU how to get around Google's account system!!

The TrekMedic hopes yiou enjoy the new and improved Is This Life?

That is all!

A Classic,....

A serious HT to Wyatt at Support Your Local Gunfighter for this gem:

A Few Thoughts on "Diversity"

As baseball fans, many us of know that April 15, 1947 marked the day Major League Baseball broke the color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson.

Yesterday, on the 60th Anniversary of this groundbreaking event, all baseball games were to commemorate the date as Jackie Robinson Day.

(Side note: it was somewhat ironic that the Phillies, who were the last team in the National League to integrate, had the game postponed by a Nor'Easter. I'm surprised Al Sharpton isn't screaming "conspiracy" and blaming the postponement on the team's mostly-white owners and management,...but I digress)

In light of the Imus debacle, the country is now fixated on race. This season opened with reports that Major League Baseball's rosters are now less than 10% black. It was, at first, annoying but now just plain aggravating to read story after story of how far blacks still need to go in baseball.

Some Philadelphians may remember a similar problem in the Nineties involving the lack of black rowers in the Dad Vail Regatta. Protests were formed, and promises made to get more blacks involved.

In professional lacrosse, you can count the number of black players on one hand (The Philadelphia Wings have one of them - John Christmas).

And, hey,...what about those poor South Asians?? I can't remember the last time I saw one on a hockey, baseball, football, or basketball team! Can you?

So it comes down to this: why is America forcing people of every race and color to be something that they don't want to be? Maybe the lack of black baseball and lacrosse players, and rower could simply be because black kids LIKE to play basketball and football more!

In the long run, "diversity" is just another blindly Utopian attempt to get an equal number of every race, creed, and color involved in every aspect of our society, whether we want it our not.

**That's my opinion and you're entitled to it!**

Vile, Disgusting and Just Plain SICK!!!

Major HT to Wyatt at Support Your Local Gunfighter for getting this out into the blogosphere!

By day, Rodney Jean Jaques is a firefighter in Mount Airy. He's supposed to be one of the good guys. But Jaques, 30, has suddenly landed himself in some serious hot water with the city's Finest, thanks to another song he created with his rapping alter-ego. The hard-driving untitled song, which surfaced on the Internet earlier this week, features lyrics that clearly encourage cop-killing.

"I got a surprise for them cops," Jaques raps, as gunfire erupts in the middle of the song. "I hope the news is taping this, 'cause I'm gonna turn pigs into bacon bits."

On his MySpace.com page - which touts him as "Akbar the Great" - Jaques lists his interests as "drinking cognac, handguns, assault rifles . . . driving fast, sex and any activity that I can get adreneline rush from."

Jaques is stationed at Engine 9 on Germantown Avenue near Carpenter Lane. That same fire station made headlines last year when a black firefighter allegedly put a white pillowcase with eye holes and the initials, "KKKAFFA," in his supervisor's locker. (H/T - The Philadelphia Daily News)

Despicable. A local Fox News reporter caught up with this individual at his home for an interview. Jaques claimed that he never rapped these lyrics.

There has been an online petition created to have this moron fired from the Philadelphia Fire Department. If you care to sign it, it can be found HERE.

And the Hits Keep On Coming - Maybe Imus Should've Kept His Job!

Marie at Marie's Two Cents chronicles the continuing fallout from the Imus debacle, including some serious smackdown in bad taste:


Michelle Malkin is now being called a "prostitute" by Black Panther leader Malik Shabazz!

Click here and here for more details.

Silly Mr. Shabazz! Don't you know that a prostitute gets paid for screwing people? Wait,...that also describes current Squeaker of the Mouse and Benedict Arnold fan Nancy Pelosi, doesn't it?


And just a reminder:

A DoubleStandarddradnatSelbuoD in the Black Community?? No-o-o-o!

Cerebrus413 point this one instance out (and, no - it isn't the usual about Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson):

Here’s an angle no-ones touched on yet concerning Imus losing his job over a racially charged comment.

You may remember this one, Black radio host Tom Joyner and his crew mocking 14 year old Bethany Hamilton after she was attacked by a tiger shark in Hawaii back in '03, losing an arm in the attack. It made national news and within days Joyner and co-hosts had prepared an entire skit, to make fun of this child and brought race into it by focusing on the fact that she was White. They pretty much were laughing at her tragedy and even made a song about it...mocking her. Joyner never apologized and the media ignored it despite the fact that it was heard coast to coast on ABC radio.

(Bethany is surfing for Rip Curl wetsuits today too by the way.)

Now compare Joyners fate with Imus, the smoking gun on double standards.

Caption It!

Gads! A Blogger Tag!

So,...the TrekMedic's been fagged,..er, tagged by SillyS**ts.


5 Reasons why the TrekMedic blogs:

1 - Saves money on SSRI meds.

2 - The TrekMedic is Italian and ALWAYS has an opinion about something!

3 - Someone has to counter the MSM's bulls**t, bunk and obfuscations (wow,...DemoSocialists are probably whipping out their thesaurii to look that one up!) and get the REAL news out to the public. Besides, my pajamas are cool!

4 - No matter what people say, Philadelphia is STILL the fourth largest city in the US and mine is but one of many voices speaking from it.

5 - My over-developed intellect (a common trait of right-minded people)
pissed off losers like SillyS**ts, who didn't think the TrekMedic would respond! Ha-ha,..you lose,...again!

Now,..whom to tag in retaliation:

Katey
Alex C
BobG
Matt at Weapons of Mass Discussion
Marie (who'll no doubt put in her Two Cents)

OK,...Time for Clear Channel and Viacom to Step Up!

First came the body blow:

MSNBC Drops Simulcast of Don Imus' Morning Show
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

NEW YORK — MSNBC said Wednesday it will drop its simulcast of the "Imus in the Morning" radio program, responding to growing outrage about the radio host's racial slur against the Rutgers women's basketball team.

"This decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees," NBC news said in a statement.

The announcement also was made on air.

Talk-show host Don Imus triggered the uproar on his April 4 show, when he referred to the mostly black Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." His comments have been widely denounced by civil rights and women's groups.

The decision does not affect Imus' nationally syndicated radio show, and the ultimate decision on the fate of that program will rest with executives at CBS Corp. In a statement, CBS reiterated that Imus will be suspended without pay for two weeks beginning on Monday, and that CBS Radio "will continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the situation closely."

MSNBC's action came after a growing list of sponsors — including American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., and General Motors Corp. — said they were pulling ads from Imus' show for the indefinite future.

The came the kick to the balls:

Don Imus Fired By CBS Radio for Racist Comments, One Day After MSNBC Drops Show
Thursday, April 12, 2007

NEW YORK — CBS fired Don Imus from his radio program Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation's most prominent broadcasters.

Imus initially was given a two-week suspension for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" on the air last week, but outrage continued to grow and advertisers bolted from his CBS radio show and its MSNBC simulcast.

"There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society," CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. "That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision."

Rutgers women's basketball team spokeswoman Stacey Brann said the team did not have an immediate comment on Imus' firing.

Time Magazine once named the cantankerous broadcaster as one of the 25 Most Influential People in America, and he was a member of the National Broadcaster Hall of Fame.

But Imus found himself at the center of a storm as protests intensified. On Wednesday, MSNBC dropped the simulcast of Imus' show.

Losing Imus will be a financial hit to CBS Radio, which also suffered when Howard Stern departed for satellite radio. The program is worth about $15 million in annual revenue to CBS, which owns Imus' home radio station WFAN-AM and manages Westwood One, the company that syndicates the show across the country.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson met with Moonves on Thursday to demand Imus' removal, promising a rally outside CBS headquarters Saturday and an effort to persuade more advertisers to abandon Imus.

Sumner Redstone, chairman of the CBS Corp. board and its chief stockholder, told Newsweek that he had expected Moonves to "do the right thing," although it wasn't clear what he thought that was.

The news came down in the middle of Imus' Radiothon, which has raised more than $40 million since 1990. The Radiothon had raised more than $1.3 million Thursday before Imus learned that he lost his job.


Now, the TrekMedic isn't defending Don Imus. Don Imus stuck his foot in his mouth and deserves a "Rosie Award" for doing so.

But let's call a spade a spade here, folks.

For two people who call themselves "Reverends," Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson seem to have conveniently forgotten that Our Lord said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

And if the American public wants to have our airwaves cleaned of statements that denigrate minorities and women, it would appear that:

• Clear Channel and Radio One, as well as others, must change the format of all of its radio stations that broadcast Radio Air Pollution (RAP), since most of the lyrics glorify violence and treat women as subordinate to men
• Viacom must shut down MTV. Same reason, different media.
• The Spike Lee movie, "School Daze," the very source of some of the banter that between Don Imus, Charles McCord and Bernard McGuirk, must be banned from airplay in the United States.
  

Make no mistake folks: what we've witnessed this week is nothing more than a Fifth Column attack on talk radio by the leftists who support a Democratic Congress that can legislate without having their motives questioned. There efforts to twist the Fairness Doctrine against conservative talk radio is failing and this is the only ( and cowardly/niggardly) way they think they can succeed!

And BTW, Akkam and Sillys**ts, before you come on here and try (and fail, as usual) to debate the topic, just remember, its all another just round of Demo-Socialist DoubleStandarddradnatSelbuoD!!




HT to BobG for this gem!