Monthly Archives: August 2018

TV’s Transcendent Phenomenon: Charlie’s Angels

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What is television really? It’s vicarious escapism. The never-changing narrative with TV is that you’ve had a hard day at work/home/school, and you want to relax and de-stress. Anything that engages and allows the viewer to live out their deepest fantasies becomes a ratings & cultural hit. These shows define the times, because everyone watches them– and is thus affected.

The biggest television phenomenon EVER, happened in 1976, when ABC’s Charlie’s Angels piloted. Here it is, and everyone from that era has seen it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfR1tkvrFz0&t=4s

Charlie’s Angel’s were the Beatles of television– breaking rules & changing everything with their presence & charisma. This was the first prime-time network show that featured all women as the leads. There were no men (only Bosley) to save them, so they saved each other, which was an important motif. It liberated women, in that this show wasn’t about the writing or the message in the script– this was about women owning it.

Charlie’s Angels was billed as three women police officers, hired to be a detective firm for the rich & eccentric “Charlie,” who is only heard and voiced by John Forsythe. Note that there is never any real danger of them getting hurt or shot. You just don’t do that to Charlie’s Angels, and that was another message to the bad guys, which the audience liked.

Farrah Fawcett-Majors was (and still is) the first Angel everyone talks about. To put it simply: she had charisma like no other bombshell you’ll ever see. Her smile was radiant & irresistible, plus she liked to have fun. It wasn’t difficult to write for her, because she easily did everything a female star needs to do. She instantly turned on all the men, which means all the other women had to up their games. That got everyone’s attention, and Charlie’s Angels instantly became the #1 show of the 1976 season, opening up new frontiers in television.

This was America’s bicentennial, when a peanut farmer from Georgia, Jimmy Carter (D) was elected US President, ending 8 years of Nixon-Kissinger-Ford corruption & war criminality. Vietnam was finally over, and Charlie’s Angels was the perfect show for its time, as it radiated optimism.

Basic cable completely penetrated America by the early-mid 1980’s. It’s basic channels in most markets were: MTV, CNN, WGN, TBS, TNT, ESPN, USA, A&E & Lifetime. In many ways Charlie’s Angels was a prequel to cable channels such as MTV and Lifetime. Many of the early made-for-television movies on Lifetime featured ex-Angels in leading roles. Music videos had to look good and have beautiful women to appeal to kids. That was Charlie’s Angels, and there was nothing like it before them.

This one-hour “action” phenomenon ran five seasons (1976-81)– 110 episodes. The only Angel who stayed the entire series was Jaclyn Smith, who personified feminine elegance & sophistication. She dressed impeccably, looking stunning in everything from formal wear to a bikini. Smith had done commercials & modeling before Charlie’s Angels, so she was a limited actress at the time, but she made up for her lack of chops with guile & charm. This series is unthinkable without Jaclyn Smith’s presence, and (again) that tells you what this is all about– the women.

Example: one early episode has Jaclyn Smith as Kelly Garret, going undercover to get a part in a casting. Her pitch to the local Hollywood director, who is ridiculously dressed as a South Pacific native (this is what they did to men) is as follows:

Kelly Garrett: I acted some in high school, and in college… and I never get parking tickets.

Director: What does parking tickets have to do with this?

Kelly Garrett: Well, whenever the police pull me over, I begin crying.  

[end of scene]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5X2bbDp7MU

The second-longest running Angel was Cheryl Ladd, who replaced Farrah Fawcett after season 1, and stayed to the end. Farrah Fawcett wanted to do movies, and she had the clout to get out of her TV deal with ABC. Ladd was introduced to the audience as Farrah’s sister at the beginning of season 2, and she did well enough in her role.

Cheryl Ladd was put in an impossible situation of replacing an icon, and to her credit didn’t try, but instead was herself. Ladd is beautiful & looked fantastic in a bikini, which was often her featured part, as she lacked acting skills. Cheryl Ladd was a model & disco dancer, also billed as a singer, although she couldn’t sing a note. She made several disco albums in the late 1970’s during her time with Charlie’s Angels, and they all stiffed.

On Charlie’s Angel’s, Ladd’s sometimes questionable fashion sense clashed with Jaclyn Smith, who always had an intuitive sense of style & good taste. In contrast, Cheryl Ladd often wore disco-dated sequins and the rest of that garb. I’ve been a little rough on this Angel, and I really don’t mean to be; Cheryl Ladd was (by far) the best replacement Angel, and she did her part to keep the series going.

The last original Angel (and most people mention them in this order) was Kate Jackson, who was billed as the “smart one,” who could act. This came through very clearly, as many of the best episodes of this series featured her carrying the plot with her versatility & humanity. In Charlie’s Angels, Kate Jackson personified the intelligent & understated form of feminine beauty. She wore turtleneck sweaters & tailored slacks, while Farrah & Jaclyn dazzled with cutting edge blouses & bathing suits.

There’s an instinctive male ritual that goes with this show (and it was from the start), which is that you have to pick your favorite Angel. I always qualify this by stating that I could never say “no” to any of them, but as a one-woman-at-a-time kind of guy, I’ve always preferred Kate Jackson. Every guy does this, and they’re always serious in their answer. There’s a tip for all the women readers: ask the “favorite Angel” question to measure his preferences. If he’s straight, he won’t lie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS1Vys4Ufy0&t=510s

Kate Jackson left after season 3, which was the correct time for her to go. The producers & casting directors for Charlie’s Angels could never replace Kate Jackson, as the last two seasons are mostly unwatchable. But for three seasons, Charlie’s Angels was a mesmerizing mixture, in that it empowered women and awestruck men. Boys/men wanted them, and girls/women wanted to be able to do that to boys & men. There is nothing else, and that’s why Charlie’s Angel’s owned it back then, and still does today. No new TV show, or movie remake, can ever re-capture all that primal magic.

Charlie’s Angels was (and still is) distorted & misrepresented to fit a particular Hollywood agenda, which today is #MeToo. Back then it was slammed as Jiggle TV or TNA– tits-n-ass. As discussed and shown above in the videos, it was much more than that– yet this unfair label still stuck. Why? It’s because this show was hated by a segment of the political spectrum known as feminists. These haters fumed when Farrah Fawcett walked in front of the camera with her blouse jiggling, obviously not wearing a bra. This was liberating for many girls & women at the time, and the boys & guys certainly didn’t protest; yet much of this was (and still is) represented as degenerate & degrading to women.

Note that it was Farrah’s idea to do stuff like this. She smiled & liked it, and viewers loved her. Everyone bought “the poster,” or at least got a peek at it from a friend. She got paid and no one was hurt, so what was all the fuss? The only demographic that was actually offended were older women, who felt unattractive & left behind by this fantasy TV fare.

The truth was (and always will be), beautiful younger women are ALWAYS more attractive to men than older women. Charlie’s Angels proved this as an undeniable fact to everyone who watched. As a boy who watched back in the day, my feelings were similar then to how I feel today, in that women need to take care of their men, otherwise they will get left behind. The message to boys & men was and still is: these are the most beautiful women, desired by all, so they will be doing the choosing. The only way you can get a woman of this quality, is if you are just as desirable as a man. All this is natural & instinctive, so why do feminists label it as sexist & unfair to women?

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Florida’s 2018 Primaries

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As we roll through the mid-term primaries, there’s a fierce behind-the-scenes battle in Washington (and everywhere else) over control of these elections. Every voting district in the US is controlled by either Republicans or Democrats. That party essentially controls the votes & voting machines in all the polling stations in the district.

We all know by now that these electronic voting machines (EVM’s) can be (and are) manipulated. These machines are actually designed to be vulnerable, for several reasons: 1) it’s easy for them to tamper, and 2) since anyone can do it, it gives the manipulators cover. Hence the ubiquitous but ever-mysterious “Russian hackers,” etc.

America’s tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat have reportedly met in private to discuss strategies for countering “information operations.” FYI: this site (RicSize.com) is an “information operation,” by definition. I thoughtfully inform people on how things operate. Why am I being targeted & censored, as if I was a Russian intelligence agency? Can I be put on a kill list?  Makes me wonder…

This whole Internet censorship campaign has been targeted at dissidents such as WikiLeaks, the WSWS & myself– from the start. America became a de facto police state on 9/11 under Bush/Cheney (2001-09), and the intelligence/spying apparatus was vastly expanded under Obama/Biden (2009-17). In 2018, it’s a free-for-all in terms of who controls the EVM’s (& social media) in key districts, because that will decide these “elections.”

Has Russia hacked into Florida’s election system? There is no evidence. [1]
By Salvador Rizzo   Washington Post   August 17, 2018

— Exchange with reporters before a campaign event in Tallahassee, Aug. 7

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.): “At the urging, I might say, of the chairman and vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, we wrote and signed a joint letter to all 67 county supervisors of election to tell them that the Russians are in Florida’s records. And they need help. And they can get that help free of charge from the Department of Homeland Security that will come in and help secure their database, their election records. But it’s got to be at their initiative to do that.”

Steve Bousquet, Tampa Bay Times: “Do you know what records the Russians are meddling around with in Florida?”

Nelson: “Say again?”

Bousquet: “Do you know which records the Russians are accessing?”

Nelson: “That’s classified.”

Nelson (above) told the Tampa Bay Times on Aug. 8, “They [Russians] want to sow chaos in our democratic institutions. Every intelligence agency in the United States government has said that they are going to try to disrupt the 2018 elections, just like they did in 2016.” The Democrats never stop with this charade because they have no answers real issues such as: no good jobs, low wages, unbearable student loan debt, ICE raids, the opioid addiction crisis, US wars of aggression, and so on…

It is no coincidence that incumbent Senator Bill Nelson is in a death match campaign with Republican challenger Rick Scott, Florida’s term-limited governor. Rick Scott (above) is a win-at-any-cost conservative conman, so he will definitely get Donald Trump’s endorsement after the Florida primaries, which are to be held August 28. Here’s a sample ballot from my district that was mailed to me, which is “proof” that “Russian meddlers” are in the Florida voting system, I submit to you as “Exhibit A.” The State of Florida also sent me a voter registration card, which I’ll keep in reserve as “Exhibit B.”

The gubernatorial race to fill Scott’s seat will probably be won by Republican billionaire Ron DeSantis, who has Trump’s endorsement already. Rick Scott may be term limited, but he surely wants a Republican to fill his shoes in Tallahassee. Gwen Graham, daughter of longtime Senator Bob Graham, has the Democratic machinery behind her, but she registers about as much excitement as Hillary Clinton. The political machinery in central Florida is owned by the Republican party, and that is the swing part of this battleground state. I expect Rick Scott to buy & steal both seats.

My vote is for a worker’s revolution, which means I don’t participate in this nonsense anymore. I don’t recall ever being told to think like this by a foreign intelligence agency, or any of their propaganda arms– I just feel that way on my own. I wonder if anyone in the “mainstream” can ever acknowledge that?

Update:  Sunday August 26, 2018 ~ 4:30 PM ET

Are our streets and public places safe? Here’s your answer, and it’s capitalism that is truly responsible. The Good Luck Have Fun Game Bar at the riverfront mall in Jacksonville, FL was hosting a Madden NFL 19 qualifying tournament this afternoon. and this video is what happened: the latest mass shooting atrocity in America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=VzfK-ir1Zt8

Notice the laser focusing on the black kid’s chest at 25-26 seconds, then the shooting starts and the video is quickly disabled. The audio runs the full 60 seconds, and it’s just as terrifying.

Primary Day:  August 28, 2018   ~3:00 PM ET

It’s Primary Day, and I don’t vote; but that doesn’t mean I’m not politically active. On the contrary, this is the perfect day to express your political opinions. Everyone else is, so those who abstain should find a way to support their politics. My advice is to: observe, ask questions, listen, and speak up when necessary. My political sign for fascists and liberal apologists on Primary Day is a one-fingered salute, and I use it to good effect as needed.

The first thing I notice when I look at my voter registration card is that my selected polling station is far away, in a congested area. There are several locations that are much closer and even within walking distance, but those aren’t my stations. I’m registered “NPA,” which means No Political Affiliation. Sometimes in the past this has locked me out of the primaries altogether, but not this time as there are amendments & initiatives on the ballot, so everyone is encouraged to vote “Yes” or “No” on that at least. If you try to find information on where the polls are located online, this is a typical Florida political machinery response:

Sanford, FL is (demographically) largely black working class, but the machinery that controls the polls is Republican, as Governor Rick Scott and State Attorney General Pam Bondi have things locked up. Central Florida has been gerrymandered & carved up between the two ruling parties, just like every other state. The nearest polling station to me is the Sanford Civic Center, located in the historic downtown. On my way walking to it I pass War Memorial Park, where “Old Glory” flies at half-mast for the recent death of Senator John McCain (R-AZ). It’s City Hall & the courthouse across the street, with the police substation that controls the local Internet just past that. Do you think that’s partisan politics on Primary Day?

It’s late morning when I arrive at the station, and activity is light. I speak with one of the workers, who has been at this for 15 years. He says turn-out is a slightly above-average so far, and it was the same with early voting, which took place across the street at the public library. Early voting for the Florida midterm begins October 22.

I notice it’s all old people going into the polls. That’s not to say that people aren’t energized, because some definitely are; it’s just that so many have no clue. They exist on one form of fake news or the other. What’s largely going on at the booths are zombies pulling the handle, hoping everything will turn out alright. They may even be energized, but it isn’t going anywhere positive.

I approach a young black girl stumping for a local candidate. On top of her bad weave, sits a “Happy Birthday” tiara, which is a common election day tactic to woo voters. I allow her to give me her speech. She starts, then stops– as if she’s made a mistake. I reassure her that whatever she says isn’t going to influence my political opinion, because I don’t vote. She stops stunned and then asks me why not?

Me: I haven’t voted since 2000.

Her: That’s no reason to give up…

Me: I haven’t given up, I just don’t participate in a corrupt & manipulated process. Our votes don’t count– that was the Supreme Court ruling. That’s what 2000 Bush v Gore proved, so I don’t vote- since they aren’t accurately counted. You know that 10-year-old kids can hack these voting machines, right?

At this point an old lady who just voted and has been eavesdropping on our discussion hollers at me, “If you don’t like it then vote, otherwise shut up!”  To which I turn and directly respond, “Fascists always say that.” There are now three women who are completely stunned that someone would say that, even if it’s true. I give them all (and their candidates) a one-fingered salute– my political message to them as I walk away.

In 2000, I voted in Mount Dora, Florida at St. Edwards Episcopal Church. I checked Ralph Nader for President. It was a paper ballot that you marked with a pencil, which was then fed into an electronic vote counting machine. After that, well… who knows?

I’m in a very strange position, living in a small town where a lot of people know who I am, and I don’t know anybody. I get admirers & fans, along with creepers & haters, constantly crossing my path. Today it’s the latter, as I’m soon verbally assaulted by a large black woman whom I’ve never met. We are approaching each other on the Riverwalk and she begins hurling abuse at me from a distance. “I know who you are! You’re the anti-Christ!! God will see that you die a horrible death, when Abraham rains his vengeance on you!”

This 200+ pound psychotic zealot also screams, “Don’t you rape me!” She’s obviously a religious fascist with some #MeToo feminist hate sprinkled in for good measure. I reply, “Dream on, you deluded fascist bitch,” in repeated variations as we separate. It wasn’t over until the fat lady stopped singing, and it took awhile until her vocal cords finally went shrill in the distance. This is the shit I have to deal with, and it doesn’t make me popular with certain demographics. Luckily, I don’t care about being popular. It’s a Trotskyist’s responsibility to tell it like it is, which is called “Russian meddling” in Newspeak.

Florida is a (very large) mixed bag, which is why it’s always a key political state, whether it’s the governor, house, senate, and/or presidency up for grabs. Consider Florida the “Wild East” of Southern politics. You’ve got good ‘ol boys who have lived here forever and control much of the local machinery– overwhelmingly supporters of the Republican party. Florida continues to explode with new residents from all over the nation, and the world. Large populations of Hispanic, Asian and other ethic groups add to the already rich mixture of African Americans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and any other race you can imagine. The total number of all these groups probably is a majority in of itself, with Caucasians being the largest ethnic group in Florida.

In there, it’s a diverse group as seniors are no longer the main white voter base in Florida. Skilled workers for decades have moved themselves and their families to the Sunshine State. College students and millennials now make up a significant portion of the population and voter base. This is the most energetic element, which both parties but particularly the Democrats, need to win. When the kids stop voting for these parties, then a collapse of the two-party system becomes immanent, and we are nearing that threshold. These midterms are a litmus test, as kids are definitely being politicized, and if it doesn’t translate into significant votes for the Democrats, that means the kids have moved past them (and identity politics & trade unions), and into the field of revolutionary politics & socialism.

To summarize from a mainstream perspective: the 2018 Florida primaries were infiltrated by Russian agents, particularly in key swing districts. Their intent was to sow discord through information operations. This can’t be allowed to happen again on November 6th. We need increased police state measures, in order to ensure the security of our elections. After all, this is the foundation of American democracy, and all foreign interference must be removed.

Tuesday, ~7:00 PM ET

I live in a pet-friendly corporate apartment complex. Since I’m radioactive politically, I try to keep a low profile around the neighborhood. One of my favorite past times is feeding the wild mallards. This was their home, until humans decided to build apartments here, so food has become more scarce for the ducks and other water fowl.

In nature, mallards live partly on vegetation, and the rest on protein from insects, grubs, small amphibians and fish they can gobble down their gullets. Mallards are incredibly adaptable, I’ve come to learn firsthand. With weekly routine lawn maintenance, and pesticides killing bugs, their survival in places like here depends very much on human intervention. Why do humans refuse to recognize the problem with how we’ve been doing things, that capitalism is managed chaos driving us into an abyss? In “official politics” there is no accountability by any rational standard.

That’s what I like about the ducks, they’re always fair– and for the flock. When I feed them generously, they shake their tails in delight. When I neglect them for a time, they begin to quack louder around my door. There’s shit to pick up, and that’s part of the deal too. Ducks demand consistency, as here-today, who-knows-tomorrow doesn’t work for them.

Mallards live as a social group. They split off (male & female) during the summer months. Here, it’s all females competing for food, and these new yearlings are always hungry. There are some real beauties for sure, and it gets competitive, but that’s nature.

Learn early that you must control the feeding, otherwise it becomes a frenzy and violent behavior erupts. We are ALL emotional about food, so when you wave it in front of wild animals, they become aggressive– as this is life-or-death for them. Ducks always think and behave as part of a social order, in other words the group of ducks are an organism of itself, with a much higher level of awareness and effectiveness than they could achieve individually.

There are currently about 12-15 female mallards in my complex, and they run around in gangs of 3-5, trying to find food while protecting one another. The ones who are best at that become dominant. The mature females (who have laid eggs and hatched a brood), aren’t as active in seeking food, although they’ll take a free meal anytime they can get one. “Free meal” means they aren’t risking getting their feathers plucked or wings snapped. Feeding a proper & healthy diet to the yearlings determines the success of this generation. Here they compete with these buzzard birds, which I will compare to the mafia. The buzzards are pirates in that they are ugly, vicious, and eat everything. They are larger and more aggressive than the mallards. If left unchecked, they will get all the food.

I feed the ducks raw peanuts, which I shell indoors, then quickly & precisely dispense outdoors. Peanuts are complex carbohydrates, packed with protein & fat, which they need. This adds muscle & (later) fat, making their plumage shine. These are beautiful young female mallards that are going to get fucked this fall, when the males return and they begin to pair up. I like that!

You have to be fast, while in control, otherwise a flock of any type can overrun you. If it’s mixed birds and it happens, only the most aggressive & dominant will get food, and “accidents” will happen to the rest. One of these buzzard birds snapped this mallard’s left wing (below, in front) during one of my feedings. When you know you become responsible, and that’s why people don’t want to know. Then you have to live with the results, and make amends. I make sure this one always gets a full ration– and a bit more. I like her feather & fighting spirit. She just stuck her nose in where she shouldn’t have when she was young & naive. That shouldn’t be a death sentence, agreed?

As I mentioned, you have to find a way to make sure you are always in control of your actions & emotions while handing out the love. If you maintain fair rations consistently, they will engirth you, as I engirth them. If you can get any human neighbors to understand this animal magnetism, then more mallards will thrive. I think everyone wants that, and it doesn’t cost too much. Actually, peanuts, to be precise.

Bread, corn, and other vegetables don’t help ducks. They get enough of that junk already, as it fills their gullets but doesn’t give them what they need. It’s cruel ignorance & animal torture. These wild ducks need protein to replace the bugs & critters that used to thrive in their swamps, before humans moved in and “developed” it. The ducks aren’t going anywhere. They’re staying– one way or another. They have nowhere else to go, so it’s really up to us to do better. You either stand with them, or leave them behind.

Tuesday ~ 9:45 PM ET

The Florida polls have closed, and the returns are mostly in:

In only a mild surprise, Gwen Graham lost to black Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillium in the Democratic primary for governor. Also of note, longtime big wheel among the congressional Democrats, Alan Grayson was decisively defeated in his comeback attempt.

The Democrats have tried to get younger and have shifted towards two prerequisites for party candidacy: 1) CIA-intelligence connections, or 2) identity politics with a significant & energetic base. Whether you’re black, Hispanic, female, gay or any combination– it’s considered an asset to the Democrats as long as you can hustle votes. Beyond that reactionary hype, there really is no unified platform for the Democrats. That’s the message here in the Sunshine State, where it’s hotter than two rats fucking in a sock.

Final Primary Wrap-up:  Thursday August 30, 2018  ~Noon  ET

Andrew Gillium is backed by Bernie Sanders, and financially supported by “liberal” billionaires Tom Steyer & George Soros. Gillium’s platform includes expanding Medicaid, investing in public education, medical marijuana, and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The only one of those planks that is even achievable is medical marijuana, which was voter-approved in 2016 by 71%, and is a sop to the left. Gillium is also stumping for abolishing the ICE & impeaching Trump, even though the Governor of Florida has no such power. What does all this tell you?

This campaign for Florida governor pits billionaire Republican Ron DeSantis, a Trump supported fascist & outright racist, against an African-American huckster of the Democratic party, who may become the target of a FBI/DoJ investigation into City Hall corruption in Tallahassee. This campaign and all their partners in the media are planning to incite ignorance, extremism & violence of the worst sort on both sides: white racism vs. black racialism. These false narratives must be exposed & thoroughly discredited for any progress to occur.

Andrew Gillium surely has more popular support than Ron DeSantis for governor, but as we all know, that can be manipulated. Reading between-the-lines on political sites & Florida news outlets, the polling number Rick Scott & Ron DeSantis both need to win is 48%– minimum. Usually it’s assumed by voters & pundits that you need over 50% to win a two-horse race, but that is only true in a vacuum. Florida is just the opposite, a political battleground, with well-oiled Republican machinery which has been in place for 20 years. They can easily fudge 2+%. Anything more than that gets dicey, and the Washington Democrats generally won’t allow it.

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Misadventures in TV Land

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I write about the shows I experienced as a child, because those are my deepest memories. This is a healthy exercise, and I recommend you try your own home version of it. These memories are connected to family, since most of us watched TV together back in the 1970’s. Most homes had only one, maybe two TV sets– so you had to agree on what to watch and share the space.

That is a much different viewing experience, compared to how millennials watch on their devices nowadays. Back then there were only three networks: ABC, CBS & NBC, with PBS available when you switched your TV between VHF/UHF. No cable/satellite television, and obviously– no Internet. Remote controls were relatively new, if that helps with perspective.

But despite these differences in the medium through which we interact with pop culture & society, it’s the same in that we are still being manipulated by the puppet-masters. When you reach an age of maturity, it is important to go back to what you watched as a kid, and re-examine how it impacted you. When you are young, it’s impossible to understand the complexities of media manipulation in the name of ratings and advertising dollars, but it’s always there and it drives everything.

If you never come to terms with the fact that what you watched as a kid was used to shape how you think, then you become a zombie. There are more than a few zombies among us. These semi-corpses always believe what their preferred TV channels tells them, put appearances first, and avoid any topics of substance or importance– which make them “uncomfortable.” Critical thinking doesn’t exist for them. The kicker here is that none of this prevents one from becoming President of the United States, or obtaining any other position of power & importance. The most important thing for that is being a TV star.

I no longer have a TV, and am not interested in it– generally speaking. Every once in a while I’ll get a twinge during the World Series, or (most recently) the World Cup, but it quickly passes. Once I tune in, I’m instantly reminded why I don’t give this medium my attention anymore. It’s too many commercials & loudmouths during the program– especially in sports. The programming has gotten so watered-down with advertising and so little action, that staying interested becomes too much work. Their brazen ignorance and rigged outcomes are frustrating to the point of exhaustion. Television is supposed to be relaxing, but that’s impossible now– especially in an election year.

Back in the good ‘ol days of the early 1970’s there were less commercials, and all the networks were radically shifting their programming. In what was known in the industry as the “rural purge,” shows with countrified themes such as The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Green Acres, Mister Ed, Lassie, Petticoat Junction, and Hee Haw were canceled and permanently moved into syndication. This cornball fare was replaced with the likes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, The Partridge Family, The Brady Bunch, The Jefferson’s, Sanford & Son, etc; which provided an urban demographic & higher ratings– which every network covets.

M*A*S*H (1970) directed by Robert Altman was a powerful & groundbreaking film that was spun off into the most successful television series of its era, running for over a decade. M*A*S*H  still runs in syndication today, because the series transcended the half-hour sitcom format, by skillfully & poignantly touching on difficult issues such as war & death.

Point of context: All these changes in television (& film) were stimulated by the revolutions in jazz & rock music during the 1960’s. After Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix (& all the rest), adults could no longer be naive. Too many people had their minds opened up, and became much more intelligent and immersed in popular culture.

Hollywood realized they needed to met this demand, as Barney Fife’s act wasn’t going to cut it anymore for an audience that was growing more sophisticated in its viewing tastes. As television expanded from its 1950’s infancy, syndication became more important, as it identified which canceled shows actually had value. All shows get canceled, eventually, but which ones will become classics that people want to watch again & again?

When the Beatles hit Ed Sullivan in 1964, everything changed forever. It’s music that leads the culture, because a song is compact, hits you quicker, and can strike you anywhere at anytime with just as much depth– if not more.

Getting back to TV, game shows made a huge comeback during this period, and became a staple of daytime & evening fringe programming during the 1970’s. Family Feud, The Price is Right, The Newlywed Game, The Gong Show, and dozens of other new (or re-invented) game shows filled the airwaves during the day and in syndication. Networks love games shows because they are relatively cheap to produce, as they don’t need actors or much writing. Advertisers love hit games shows, because they create genuine excitement among the winners and encourage consumerism.

Soap operas were the daytime fare for girls & older women in the 1970’s. Most of the longest-running series in TV history are soaps such as As the World Turns, General Hospital and Guiding Light, and they peaked in this era. Cable and court TV began killing soaps in the 1980’s, and most were canceled by the end of the 1990’s. The cable-televised OJ Simpson trial (C-Span & CNN), ran daily for a year in 1994-95, and defined the new form of soap opera as reality TV.

Children’s shows of the 1970’s included Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street, The Electric Company, The Bill Cosby Show and the Krofft Supershow. I always thought Sesame Street and the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons were the best of the bunch for children’s fare. Mister Roger’s Neighborhood was the earliest TV memory for me. I enjoyed his kind messages and helpful advice for a time, but seldom laughed and that was his turn-off. Good intentions only get you so far with kids. You also need something to keep them interested. Since sex and violence weren’t allowed for kids back then, so humor had to be the hook.

In the 1970’s, TV action fare was crime-drama in an urban setting. The template was Dirty Harry (1971), as Clint Eastwood traded in his famed Colt 45, for a 44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world. His tough talk & raw action excited everyone, and made the networks feel lucky; so The Rockford Files, Starsky & Hutch, Hawaii Five-0, etc became genre favorites, as westerns fell out of favor on TV & the silver screen.

The Six Million Dollar Man, including its three pilots, ran for 5 seasons– 1973-78. This was an iconic show in that the title character had superhuman strength and other capabilities. The Six Million Dollar Man was the first TV show of its kind that translated that concept to kids in a way that seemed believable at the time. The Bionic Woman soon followed.

In retrospect the ‘science’ is ridiculous, and the stories are stiff & boring, with plot-lines that unendingly glorify the military & CIA. The Six Million Dollar Man was a major propaganda sweep from the ruling class in the 1970’s. Personally, I liked Lee Majors better in the Fall Guy, which was his follow-up series. Lee Majors was more relaxed as a stuntman/bounty hunter, and he needed a sidekick. A few babes (Heather Thomas & Markie Post) every week didn’t hurt either.

As anyone who comes from the South will tell you, you can’t keep Dixie down forever. The “CB Radio/trucking craze” of the late 1970’s brought country back. BJ & the Bear was possibly the worst TV show to ever run three full seasons (1979-81), and I watched it for awhile, so you know I’m facing demons here.

Created by Glen A. Larson (of course), the theme song was sung by BJ (Greg Evigan) who also often sang during the episodes, with his 3-note vocal range. A chimpanzee co-star is beyond a stupid idea. This show was all over the map, with McKay’s rig stamped Milwaukee, Wisconsin, yet his series was presumably set somewhere in the South, while being filmed entirely in California.

NBC’s BJ & the Bear soon spawned Claude Akins’ character into The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (NBC: 1979-81), and possibly encouraged Enos (CBS: 1980-81), an ill-conceived Dukes of Hazzard (1979-85) spin-off set in LA. That’s a lot to answer for.

These shows were purportedly one-hour “action” series, meant to compete with the likes of CHiPs (1977-83), Hart to Hart (1979-84), and Tenspeed and Brownshoe (1980). When MTV and cable finally came along, most of this shit was flushed forever, first by the kids, then the networks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx7Gvs32ReM&t=1s

In this heavily-promoted episode above (poorly transferred, but it’s all we got), guest star deputy Slim Pickens steals the show with his hilarious banter. The highlights are when: 1) he slaps the cuffs on “the famous BJ McKay,” and 2) when McKay and the self-dubbed ‘Piston Packin’ Mamas’ are foiled by Slim Pickens’ three-car roadblock, and instantly give up. McKay & the PPM’s weren’t even smart enough to take an alternate route through a different county, but then again, if they did there would be no plot.

Final spoiler: Slim Pickens detours the convoy onto an unpaved back road, ultimately wrecking their loads. But luckily in the next scene, McKay hustles a woman buyer into giving them 67-cents-on-the-dollar for their smashed eggs, rotting away in unrefrigerated trucks. Painful, I know…

For those who don’t want to watch (and I don’t blame you), the chimpanzee was named Bear, after Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. The final episode of this trailer wreck of a series, should have been BJ driving his rig to the jungles of Africa, then removing the insipid human clothing on Bear, and releasing him back where he belongs. Imagine a reverse-Jungle Book (1967) motif. Woulda been a helluva two-parter to close things out.

Cable TV came into everyone’s home by the early 1980’s, and changed everything for television, the same way the Internet and social media has changed information exchange today. As kids, we are defined by what we watch, as advertisers have been targeting kids since television’s advent. With cable, there were suddenly a lot more options for viewers, so networks had to improve their programming, otherwise there were dozens of other channels to surf.

In the end, the only thing that motivates change is necessity and survival. This revolution in global society that is happening before our eyes has been a product of decades of technological breakthroughs, which has allowed mass culture to absorb it’s best & worst aspects, and make critical value judgments on its content.

For example, TV news used to be the trusted family friend at supper time. That changed with CNN, and was killed by the Internet, just like print news. Now we recognize it as fake news. When decades of experience. knowledge & wisdom can be instantly shared to a global audience, then we have the means to educate & motivate the masses towards something better.

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The Truth About Fake News

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Fake news has existed for a long, long time; for as long as mass media has existed. Newspapers, radio & television have always been propaganda tools of the ruling state, as government is nothing more than a committee of the ruling class. What’s new today is that fake news is discussed openly in the media. Donald Trump has popularized this terminology to call attention to Democrat-biased news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times & Washington Post. This is a primary reason why he’s hated so much in the liberal media.

Trump is correct in his assertions of bias against him, which gives him populist credibility among his fascist supporters. When he states that the mass media is the “enemy of the people,” and his White House Press Secretary reinforces that statement, his popularity among his hardcore supporters goes up, because he’s correct. The flipside is that his base of support is shrinking. That’s the dynamic at work here.

Republicans have always been viewed by the educated working class as the party of the rich, and the worst liars. But Donald Trump has become somewhat of a Democrat in his tactics, in that he mixes in tweets which are half-truths about the media. Trump rarely vilifies Fox News in his rants against fake news, and they are the most brazen & shameless liars of all. Ideologically speaking, Trump & his cohorts have moved the Republican party to the right, past it’s traditional platform, more in line with the Tea party & police state fascism.

An instructive case study in fake news and how it’s manipulated (and in whose interests), is the recent furor over American “pastor” Andrew Brunson, who is being held under house arrest in Turkey for his alleged involvement in the June 2016 coup attempt to overthrow president Recep Erdogan. Brunson has been in Turkish custody for nearly two years now, but suddenly it’s widely declared an issue of vital “national interest” that he be released. Let’s begin with a fundamental question: Who is Andrew Brunson?

A Google search of “pastor Andrew Brunson images,” won’t turn up a single picture [!] of him with a church congregation– in Turkey or North Carolina. Also, no members of his “congregation” in Turkey (said to number ~25) have called for his release, because they don’t exist. Brunson is clearly a CIA agent, as this is dirty politics between Erdogan & US imperialism. The working masses of Turkey are caught in this vice of economic sanctions & covert war. Only international revolutionary socialism can end this diplomatic intrigue & drive towards world war.

Currently the Trump administration’s foreign policy is focusing on starting a war with Iran, which has been a long-held objective of deep state hawks. Iran has the second-largest oil reserves in the world, behind Saudi Arabia– which is the motive. This American intrigue is about bringing the global oil supply chain under US government-corporate control, which is madness. Proxy armies in Syria & Turkey will be used for this operation.

The US-Syrian war is in it’s seventh year, and now reportedly has over 2,000 US troops on the ground in that country– who weren’t invited. Their purpose is to aid terrorist proxy armies (Free Syria Army, White Helmets, ISIS, etc) in overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has intervened military to prop up Assad, and help contain these Islamic terrorists, who are trained & directed by Washington & the CIA. They have been largely successful, provoking the wrath of the deep state, which metastasizes itself into the media through the Trump-as-an-agent-of-Putin & #MeToo campaigns.

Notice that you never hear these facts, or this type of rational analysis in any mainstream media outlet. That’s why fake news exists, to distract the masses from the truth, with a tsunami of lies & distortions. This is too dirty is be explained honestly. But how long can this go on? By all appearances, not much longer, as the Internet has connected the masses to alternative outlets for news & analysis, and social media allows instant sharing of content, globally.

The Internet is being ruthlessly censored by the CEO’s of Google, Fakebook, YouTube and all the rest of the tech giants; but it’s not going to stop this information revolution. People crave answers. They want the truth, and mass media has finally discredited itself, to the point of no return. The youth of America (and the world), no longer watch the evening news or read newspapers, as these corrupt institutions are now understood to be nothing more than a propaganda arm of the capitalist system.

Increasingly, the ruling classes of every nation (particularly the US), will resort to violence to maintain their grip on power. Information is power, and once people know the truth, they become energized. For decades, strikes and other workers struggles have been suppressed by the media, identity politics, and union bureaucracies. What is coming in the near future, will be mass-organized wildcat worker action that can’t be ignored.

When every teacher in the US goes out on strike, that (and the issues underneath) can’t be swept under the rug. When the US post office, UPS & Fed-Ex stop delivering packages & the mail, people will notice. This is what’s on the horizon, and the battle lines are already being drawn up– on both sides. That’s some real news worth knowing & considering, don’t you think?

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The Politics of Motherhood in Sports

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Sports is business, and business is politics, where true fans & athletes mostly lose.           — Ric Size

Cable TV and ESPN changed sports in the 1980’s. In the 1990’s, sports would be revolutionized again, this time by women’s participation. The US Women’s National Soccer team won two of the first three women’s World Cup events. Their first was the inaugural 1991 World Cup for women, and almost no one cared or noticed. Norway won in 1995, defeating the US in the finals.

After being blacked out of their 1996 gold medal triumph in Atlanta at the summer Olympics, all the pressure was on in 1999, when America hosted the World Cup. In possibly the most dramatic sporting event ever, the entire world watched as the US defeated China 0-0, 5-4 in penalty kicks. Mia Hamm Michelle Akers, Brandi Chastain and all the rest defined this new era for everyone. Soccer moms are now mainstream.

Since these revolutionary advances in sports, we now view men & women equally in the media. We can adore & criticize men & women equally now, because both groups have star appeal. One unique difference with women is that the issue of pregnancy comes to the fore. Women have to deal with it directly, verses men. This social difference has made its way into right-wing politics (#MeToo campaign), and big money sports where Serena Williams is now extolled as the poster-child for athletes as mothers.

Background: Kim Clijsters (above) was born June 8, 1983 and won 41 singles and eleven doubles titles. She won four Grand Slam singles titles: three at the US Open, in 2005, 2009, and 2010 and one at the Australian Open in 2011. Interestingly, Kim Clijsters announced her retirement from professional tennis when she was pregnant on May 6, 2007. Clijsters gave birth to daughter, Jada Elle, on February 27, 2008 meaning she was just shy of age 25 at the time.

In March 2009, Clijsters publicly declared her intent to return to the WTA tour, and won 3 more majors in her career before retiring for good after the 2012 season. On September 18, 2013, Clijsters gave birth to a son, Jack Leon Lynch. In October 2016, she gave birth to her third child, Blake Richard Lynch. That’s a remarkable career, which doesn’t often get remembered by the #MeToo liberal-Democrat crowd, for some unexplained reason.

Victoria Azarenka was born July 31, 1989, and has won two Australian Open singles titles– 2012 & 2013. Belarus is her home, which is bordered by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital and most populous city is Minsk. This forested country of about 10 million became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, and remains in their sphere of influence. Thus ESPN doesn’t cover Victoria Azarenka much.

Azarenka and her former boyfriend Billy McKeague have one son, Leo, born December 19, 2016– when she was age 27. Following their split immediately after 2017 Wimbledon, they became involved in a legal child custody case for their son which resulted in Azarenka’s withdrawal from the 2017 US Open and all other 2017 tournaments. Here’s excerpts from an interview she gave to the New York Times, published April 25, 2017.

With Baby in Tow, Victoria Azarenka Returns to Tennis — and Her Roots [1]

After an extended break from competition, Azarenka is training in her native Belarus with a new coach and a new traveling companion: her infant son.

MINSK, Belarus — The child care was done, if only for a moment, and Victoria Azarenka was back where it all began, leaning against the wall that had been her first tennis companion. “It was the best hitting partner, because it never misses, never complains,” Azarenka explained. The wall is in a small gymnasium in the Republic Olympic Training Center, a labyrinthine tennis facility in Minsk that was a short walk from the small, two-bedroom apartment Azarenka shared with her parents, her older brother, Max, and her grandparents.

“Yes, I’ll do it for me, because I want to achieve my full potential, but it’s not anymore just for me,” Azarenka said. “I want to have my son be proud of me. I want to give him a good example that if you have a goal and you have a dream, you can achieve it if you work hard.” She resists calling it a comeback. After all, she was not sidelined by injury, illness, burnout or misfortune…

Victoria Azarenka admits that she was depressed (when she was injured in 2014-15), but has grown from it:

“I don’t want to sound like a mental person, but, yeah, I was,” she said. “It’s just when you are in those moments it’s difficult to realize that, because you think you’re fine and you’re trying to kind of command your mind that you’re OK, but it’s really just going through that and experiencing that and really admitting it to yourself. I think the first time I admitted that I wasn’t OK it made me feel a little bit better, and being an athlete I think it’s not a weakness to admit that, because we’re all human, and we all go through difficult situations and it’s OK to be that way. The important thing, and what’s exciting is how you come out of it. That’s what shows a strong personality, a strong character, because it’s a challenge of life; it’s more.”

Victoria Azarenka: Facebook August 17, 2017 ·

My incredible fans and friends, who have supported me throughout my career deserve to know why I may not be able to compete at the U.S Open this year.

The day my son Leo was born, back in December of last year, was by far the happiest day of my life. I now have a brand new appreciation for how new mothers – and fathers – juggle the many different responsibilities for their families. However, like most working mothers, despite my unconditional love for my son, I am faced with a difficult situation which may not allow me to return to work right away.

In Belarus back in March, with my family in tow, I started working toward the goal of returning to the tennis tour and competing at a high level by July 31st. I was able to return early, playing in Mallorca mid-June followed by Wimbledon.

Shortly after Wimbledon, Leo’s father and I separated and as we work to resolve some of the legal processes, the way things stand now is that the only way I can play in the US Open this year is if I leave Leo behind in California, which I’m not willing to do.

Balancing child care and a career is not easy for any parent, but it is a challenge I am willing to face and embrace. I want to support men and women everywhere who know it is ok to be a working mother – or father. No one should ever have to decide between a child and their career, we are strong enough to do both.

I am incredibly grateful for all of the support I have received from women and men around the world who recognize the importance of supporting working moms and our right to be with our children. I look forward to hopefully having positive developments soon so that this difficult situation can be resolved and I can get back to competing. No parent should have to decide between their child or their career.

I remain optimistic that in the coming days Leo’s father and I can put aside any differences and take steps in the right direction to more effectively work as a team and agree on an arrangement for all three of us to travel and for me to compete but, more importantly to ensure that Leo has a consistent presence from both of his parents.
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To finish this tale to the present, Victoria Azarenka received a wild card for the year’s US Open champion. Azarenka is currently ranked #87. The July 16 WTA rankings were used to determine direct entries into the US Open, which begins Aug. 27. She has quietly worked her way back (no Facebook posts on her page since the one cited above), and has demanded no preferential treatment. She has made it clear that her priority is her son, and no one doubts it. People can respect & understand that.

Serena Williams was born September 26, 1981 and is also a mother preparing for the US Open, but much differently. On April 19, 2017, Williams posted a picture of her midsection on Snapchat. It had the caption, “20 weeks,” sparking speculation that she was pregnant. Later that evening, her spokesperson confirmed that she was expecting.

On September 1, 2017, Williams gave birth to a daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian. Williams had a cesarean-section delivery due to complications, which has short-circuited her long-planned “comeback.” The biggest factor working against her professional success from the start is her age. She gave birth to her daughter when she turned age 35, and is now approaching age 37. Athletes (men & women alike) don’t get better at this age, they decline & retire. Williams and her longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglou spin it differently.

Serena Williams Confirms She’s Pregnant After Day of Speculation:   NYT April 19, 2017 [2]

[Patrick] Mouratoglou expressed delight for Williams and Ohanian. From a tennis perspective, he said he was not upset about missing the chance to chase more titles in the coming months. “Honestly, not,” he said. “I am not disappointed because I know how important what is happening right now is for her, and I also know there’s a really good chance that she’ll come back afterward. “What is fabulous is all these challenges, and now there’s a new challenge that’s incredible. She’ll be over 35 and a new mother trying to win Grand Slams.”

Mouratoglou, a confident and enterprising Frenchman, recently opened a large tennis academy near Nice after having operated an academy in the Paris suburbs for years. He is also a prominent television analyst and has been one of the biggest factors in Williams’ late-career renaissance. When they began working together in 2012, Williams was 30, and Mouratoglou said she told him that she wanted to win one last major singles title. She has far exceeded that. She won her first tournament with Mouratoglou — Wimbledon in 2012 — and has gone on to win 10 major singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in singles with him as her coach.

Once involved romantically, Mouratoglou and Williams have remained a team professionally… “It’s difficult to say, because it’s a situation that’s completely new and that she has never been through,” Mouratoglou said. “It’s very difficult to imagine in advance how someone will react when they are a mother. It’s so special and such a life change. I do think she’ll come back, and she will come back all the more if everyone thinks she’s done. So I encourage you to write that she’s finished. Please.”

Political footnote: Serena Williams last title was the 2016 Australian Open, after which she revealed she was pregnant. Coincidentally, a few weeks later it was announced to the world that Maria Sharapova (a longtime professional & personal rival) had failed a drug test at that same event. Sharapova wouldn’t return to a major until the 2017 US Open, facing #2-seeded Angelique Kerber in the 1st round, with Sharapova prevailing– stunning everyone.

Serena Williams’ “comeback” (as she has marketed this campaign) has been hyped by ESPN and the rest of the liberal media since after the 2018 Australian Open. These are screenshots of her appearances since then, with everything you need to know from the WTA Rankings homepage.

It started with Indian Wells & Miami (above) which are hard-court tournaments. Indian Wells is a rockstar event, so every player wants to show up and be part of it. Serena beat the warm bodies in the first two rounds, then lost to her older sister Venus Williams 6-2. 6-4. If you know sports & injury recovery, then that was a HUGE red flag.

Nevertheless, Serena Williams was determined to play in Miami, which is her hometown. She now actually owns the event; as she’s a major investor & on the board. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this event needs to switch to clay to have any appeal to serious professionals trying to win the next major which is the French Open in this case. Indian Wells, LA outclasses Miami, Florida– so re-invent this tournament; please.

We’ll see what Serena Williams can do as an owner, but as a pro player she’s finished. In Miami 2018, 20-year old up & comer Naomi Osaka crushed Serena Williams in the first round: 6-3, 6-2. This is exactly the kind of confident young player Serena Williams can’t beat anymore.

Serena Williams’ next tournament was the 2018 French Open. She beat #17 ranked Ashley Barty in the 2nd round, then #11 Julia Georges in the 3rd round, and was set-up to face Maria Sharapova in the 4th Round, when she suddenly announced a “torn pectoral muscle” which left her unable to serve, and thus compete. She retired just an hour before the match was scheduled to start, leaving her opponent and fans in a state of shock.

Miraculously, less than a month later, Serena Williams began her Wimbledon run to the finals, before she was soundly defeated by Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-3. Serena Williams never even played a top-50 opponent until the semis, and again it was Julia Georges, whom she handled easily– as always. Serena Williams was ranked #181 in the world, yet was given a #25 seeding, which was unprecedented. Wimbledon 2018 was most likely a fixed draw to help Serena win a 24th major. The mathematical possibility of this draw happening randomly in her favor was so remote as to not exist, and it was a disgrace to the sport of tennis.

After Wimbledon, it’s back to the hard-courts again. Below is how Serena Williams looked in San Jose less than a month ago, in a 1st Round 6-1, 6-0 loss to #48-ranked Johanna Konta. As you can see in this image from that match, there is no athletic balance or control here. Serena Williams’ core is devastated, and she needs rest & recovery before trying to compete again. Any other conclusion is delusional.

Of course she isn’t listening to her body or science, so the media hype machine is pressed into action…

Serena Williams to play in Montreal after accepting Rogers Cup wild card
Updated: July 24, 2018  [3]

MONTREAL (AP) — Serena Williams will play in the Rogers Cup in Montreal next month, her first tournament since her runner-up finish at Wimbledon. Tournament officials announced Tuesday that Williams received a wild card into the event, which begins Aug. 3. Her ranking jumped from No. 181 to No. 28 after her run at Wimbledon. The 36-year-old has played in four tournaments this year after giving birth last year.

The Rogers Cup is a tuneup for the U.S. Open. Williams last played it in 2014, when she reached the semifinals. She won the event three times when it was played in Toronto. After her loss in the Wimbledon final to Angelique Kerber, Williams said she had proved to herself that she could still compete to win Grand Slams. Her next Grand Slam title would tie her with Margaret Court for the most with 24. She already has the most major trophies in the professional era.

But after seeing her draw of tough hard-court opponent Alize Cornet in the 1st Round…

Serena Williams out of Montreal tourney for personal reasons Aug 4, 2018  [4]

MONTREAL — Serena Williams has pulled out of next week’s Rogers Cup hard-court tournament, citing personal reasons. The tournament announced Williams’ withdrawal on Saturday. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is coming off the most lopsided defeat of her career, a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Johanna Konta in San Jose, California, on Tuesday.

Williams, 36, was the runner-up at Wimbledon last month. That was just her fourth tournament since returning to the tour after having a baby in September and dealing with a health scare related to blood clots. The year’s last major tournament, the US Open, starts on Aug. 27. Williams will be replaced in the draw at Montreal by Tatjana Maria, who faces Alize Cornet in the first round.

Unless anyone has a better explanation, that’s what it is. The rest can be dismissed as convenient excuses at this point. Serena Williams needs to play matches to be ready for the US Open, so Cincinnati is the next stop on the tour…

Serena Williams falls to Petra Kvitova in Cincinnati second round 8:15 AM ET 8-15-18  [5]

Serena Williams was eliminated from the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday, falling to eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova in a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 second-round loss. Williams was making her first appearance at the tournament since winning the title in 2015. She opened with a victory 6-1 6-2 against Daria Gavrilova, a match that took just 65 minutes.

Cincinnati was her fifth tournament since she had a baby last September. She has dealt with blood clots and recently said she has been struggling with postpartum emotions. “You know, this is a long comeback,” she said. “I just began. I just started — definitely at the very, very beginning. I’m getting there, and I’m going to just continue to work hard and, hopefully, I’ll start winning more matches.”

What’s happening here is a glorious career ending in a slow-motion train wreck. Many of the achievements Serena Williams has made for herself (and women) are being undermined by her lack of character and ethics at the end. She’s being pushed and is reaching for something she has no right to anymore, which is to be considered the best women’s player in the world. These are the current WTA rankings;

Right now there are at least 12-15 WTA professionals that Serena Williams can’t beat.

All this became apparent at Roland Garros, when Serena Williams ducked Maria Sharapova. Her career mark again Sharapova is 19-2*. The asterisk is for that duck, because she couldn’t handle going 19-3, which smacks of ungraciousness & poor sportsmanship. Where’s the role model in that?

Footnote on PED testing: If doping is widely suspected by professional peers, then that athlete is tested more frequently. Roger Federer agrees that this is good policy for the sport, so who’s to argue? Only Serena Williams it appears.

Every time a WADA agent shows up for a sample, she’s in front of a camera and/or posting her indignant reaction [!?#) on social media. No other professional player does this. Many comments in the forums & chatboards remind people that they’ve heard this routine before from Lance Armstrong. Serena Williams is a real student of the game, if you know what I mean.

Update:  Thursday   August 23, 2018 ~ 5:00 PM  ET

The men’s & women’s draws for the upcoming US Open have been released, and here are my conclusions. The men’s brackets look balanced & fair. I don’t expect any objections/complaints from the players, or too many surprises over the next two weeks. The women’s draw is a different matter entirely, as the brackets have clearly been fixed again– to accommodate Serena Williams who was seeded No. 17 for the US Open, nine spots higher than her current ranking of No. 26.

Once again, it’s not the inflated seeding that matters, as much as the fact that nearly all the best women’s players who can handle Serena (pointed out above) are bracketed far away from her. The only two players who can beat her, in her section of the draw are; sister Venus Williams, whom she could face in the 3rd-Round, and #1-seeded Simona Halep, a potential 4th-Round match.

I basically predicted this, and that’s why I published this piece before the US Open draws were announced– to anticipate (prove) the next fix in a women’s tennis major. I’ve identified which players Serena Williams avoids, through her heavyweight connections with the most prestigious tournament officials; and now you see how skillfully this is done. ESPN has already gone into overdrive with their Serena puff pieces & flak machine.

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So you wanna be a punk rocker?

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More than any other artist on this planet, I am well-known in elite circles, yet relatively unknown to the general public. Blacklisting is a political act, taken by the ruling class, when they can’t refute the message. Instead they censor it. The US Executive branch and the Intelligence Committee’s of both houses of Congress, have known who I am for awhile. Of course, nothing can be stated on the record. National (in)security.

Many big celebrities also know who I am, particularly in sports, music & TV/film. but it’s the same there too. When you’re tied into the corporate machinery, you give up your right to free speech. Obey the #MeToo campaign, and everything else you’re told: That’s the Faustian deal.

The NFL players are only the latest (and most-highlighted) example of this censorship, as players can’t even protest police killings before a game, without becoming the target of media attacks and league blacklisting. Colin Kaepernick never got a job offer, even though he was a top-10 NFL QB. That sends a clear message from ownership to the players. More players need to step up for this to change.

That’s mainstream, which I’m not allowed to be part of. I’m pushed underground by the government-corporate elite machinery– Google, Fakebook, YouTube and the rest; in order that I never be allowed to influence any of this. If you are making any kind of art these days, then you know what I mean. Revolutionary politics is the same. I’m both. These are the sacrifices you make to be in the right. Selling your soul is never good business, because once you start down that road, forever will it dominate your destiny.

The true path often means doing what’s unpopular. It hurts personally & economically. But it is the only way to artistic freedom & true happiness. If you are an atheist like me, then you have only one life to live, so don’t waste it in cowardice. It’s your words & actions that people remember.

To be punk means to get into sick people’s faces for a good reason. The methods vary in music, film & whatever, but that spirit is what endures & defines it. Punk means working class ethics, DIY, and move everything forward starting with the kids. Punk doesn’t make appeals to anyone over age 30, because they don’t know what’s cool anymore, if they ever did in the first place. Politically educated workers can join too, but they aren’t the target audience, as there are too few of them.

Kids define the times in music, television, film and everything else in popular (human) culture– with their approval. It’s what turns the kids on that counts, and everything else is corporate hype. When artists like myself are blacklisted, it signals the ruling class is trembling in fear. They fear the music because they know its power & influence. Kids embrace the music for the same reason.

It’s close-minded fools vs. open-minded kids when it comes to cultural criticism.  That’s the war, and punk rock leads this fight in the name of the kids. Please share this message!!

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Where Have All the Nicknames Gone?

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Chris Berman gave the best baseball nicknames ever. Berman was better at doing the ESPN highlights than actually calling a MLB game, which is why he eventually chose to exclusively cover the NFL. Here’s the funniest of his baseball best:

Mike Enough Aldretti, Kent Buy a Vowel Hrbek, Pat Mahomes Where the Heart is, Roberto Remember the Alomar, Carlos One if by Land, Two if Baerga, Francisco Umbilical Cordova, Stan Javier Self A Merry Little Christmas, Steve Ebony and Avery, Delino Decoconut Deshields, Oddibe Young Again McDowell, Kent Magic Mercker, Bert Be Home Blyleven, Rich Dotson 280z, Wally Absorbine Joyner, Eric Win Place or Show, Heathcliff Slocumb if ya got ’em, Jesse Belly Up to the Barfield, Matt No Nokes, Rod Beck Beck Beck Beck Beck, Lance You Sank my Blankenship, Greg Gagne with a Spoon, Mike Leggo Gallego, Ken Get Off My Cloude, A J Touchy Feeley, Pat Pick Up the Tabler, Jeff See Through Blauser, Eddie Eat Drink and be Murray, Craig Def Lefferts, Kirk Weekly Rueter, Damon Blue Berryhill, Rick See Ya Later Aguilera, Dave Mary Magadan, Kevin Smallmouth Bass, and Scott Supercalifragilisticexpiala Brosius.

His complete list is here.

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Titles Matter

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Hot in Cleveland was an American sitcom on TV Land (it’s first originally-scripted series), and one of the greatest titles for a television series– ever. These women were no longer hot in LA or New York, but they’re Hot in Cleveland.

Of course the audience knew the stars’ past histories before the first episode, so it was a joke everyone instantly got. Ironically, this highly-rated series was recorded in front of an enthusiastic live studio audience in Studio City, California.

It premiered in 2010, and ran for 6 seasons– 128 episodes total. It starred Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White; and was one of the best sitcoms of it’s era– which is saying something. The two hardest things to do in show business are: 1) be an artist, and 2) make ’em laugh.

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