Sportscasters Hypocrisy + Political Correctness Is Castrating The NFL

"It's all the politically correct idiots in America. That's all it is." Mike Ditka on the controversy raging over the name of the Washington Redskins

• Earlier this week, I wrote a piece pointing out that there's more outrage over the Ray Rice video than the two videos showing the decapitation of two Americans by an ISIS homicidal maniac. It's been virtually impossible to listen to any local or national sports show without listening to sportscasters talking about the Ray Rice incident. In fact, their coverage of the incident actually overshadowed the memorials to the victims of 9/11 (including the Benghazi 9/11 victims). {After I wrote this, Rich Lowry wrote the following a week later regarding the news about ISIS and the NFL: ""...the casual observer would be hard pressed to decide which is more odious."}.
• There was a time in the NFL when sportscasters left politics on the sidelines. No more. Now these mental midgets---who know as much politics as a typical low information voter---feel the need, the compulsion to lecture the football audience on cultural-political issues. We've seen it with Bob Costas and gun control. We've seen it with Michael Sam. And now we're belabored with Ray Rice (who, by the way, should be banned from the league for life in my opinion). And while they have every right to voice their opinions, there's also a time and place for expressing those opinions. I contend it should not be during the airing of a professional football game.
• But this is where the hypocrisy comes in. Since 2000, there have been 85 domestic violence arrests against NFL players (USA Today). In fact, in two of the most recent incidents of domestic violence by NFL players, both players remain active members of their respective teams (also USA Today). Yet, where's the outrage from sportscasters about those two players? I contend most Americans don't even know their names (Quincy Enunwa of the NY Jets and Ray McDonald of the Forty-Niners. Of course, they are innocent unless proven guilty. Both were arrested). Note: The FBI reported domestic violence among the general population decreased by 63% from 1994 to 2012.

Ari Fleischer: 9/11 Behind The Scenes With Pres. Bush & His Staff

Yes, Americans are weary of war. Especially war fought by half-measures and guided by cultural sensitivities...David Burge Tweet (I would also add guided by political correctness as we've seen after the Ft. Hood shooting)

Ari Fleischer was the WH Press Secretary for George W. Bush. The following are notations and recollections on 9/11 from his Tweets this morning. It's fascinating stuff. 

• Approx. 8:50 a.m. I got a page on my pager (we didn't have Blackberries then and the IPhone hadn't been invented) telling me a plane hit WTC.
• As soon as I got the page, I hustled out of my car 2tell the president. He was shaking hands with school officials---none of whom knew the news.
• After the president finished shaking hands, Karl Rove informed him of what we thought had to be an "accident."
• 9:00 POTUS goes into the holding room and calls Condi. He instructs her to make resources available 2 help NY, still thinking it was an accident.
• After the call, POTUS goes into the classroom and starts reading a book to the kids. The press is in the back of the room.
• 9:05 WH Chief of Staff Andy Card interrupts the president to whisper in his ear--the second tower has been hit. "America is under attack."
• I wrote in the back of a legal pad-"Don't say anything yet." I wanted him 2b  briefed b4 talking. I put my back to the press & held up the sign.
• The president continued the reading event for several more minutes. Years later, Michael Moore criticized Bush for not leaving immediately.
• Bush said later he stayed 2 collect his thoughts and send a signal of calm. He said he didn't want 2 bolt from his chair and alarm the nation.
• POTUS left the event and went into the holding room 2 get briefed/work on the phones. Here is a picture of the scene. Note: photo shown of Bush and aides on phone.
• Someone wheeled a TV into the holding room. Here's the scene. Again, photo
• 9:30 Bush addressed a group in the gym that expected to hear remarks on education. Few people there knew of the attack. No Twitter back then.
• Terrorism against our nation will not stand (Bush). And now, if you join me in a moment of silence.
• We boarded the motorcade and drove {fast} to Air Force One, planning for a return to Washington, D.C.
• 9:37 American Airlines flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon.
• 9:45 We boarded Air Force One. I was in my seat for the takeoff  and then spent most of the rest of the day in the president's cabin.
• FOne Captain Mark Tillman told me 10 yrs later that we took off at an unusually steep ascent because he had a report of a sniper at the end of the runway. (Years later Col. Tillman said the control tower reported an unidentified plane descending toward Air Force One)

Random Thoughts + News That Should Make Your Head Explode

Moderate Syrian Rebels---People who only want to cut off half your head...David Burge Tweet

Sometimes one has to just glance around at the insanity that surrounds us all. I gave into this compulsion earlier today. This is what I found:

• I find it interesting (and disturbing) that there's more outrage over the Ray Rice incident + associated video than the video of an ISIS lunatic decapitating the heads of two Americans.
• The feminists have finally awakened from their long coma regarding the Ray Rice incident. Of course, they were also in a coma during the Bill Clinton administration.
• Make no mistake, this is not about Ray Rice. The left is after the NFL.
• If I ever had the opportunity to bump into Barbara Boxer or Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the first and only question I would ask both is: Who ties your shoelaces?
• Tonight Pres. Obama will be doing a presser re: ISIS. But how does one go from no strategy to a strategy in one week?
• Pres. Obama said "theater" does not come naturally to him except for speaking in front of Greek columns, a fake presidential seal and countless photo ops.
• Anytime there's an election, someone inevitably says something like: "I'd rather vote for Mickey Mouse." Who knew those people were right?
• Former WH Press Secretary Jay Carney got a job with CNN. Is anyone surprised?
• Referring to Al Sharpton as a "reverend" would be like referring to the late murderous cannibal  Jeffrey Dahmer a chef.
• It's clear this administration would have been perfect during the years Seinfeld was on TV. After all, it's not a lie, if you believe it.
• Have you noticed when sports commentators  plunge into the political world they always appear exceedingly stupid?
• Have you also noticed that any post-game interview with either a coach or a player sounds the same after every game?
• In fact, the most politically correct people on the planet---with the exception of the Hollywood suck-ups---are sports commentators.
• Chuck Todd is now the host of "Meet the Press" replacing David Gregory. His debut show was with Pres. Obama. I noticed Chuck Todd was wearing a new pair of knee pads.
• Does the Republican Party exist?
• In light of the Ray Rice incident (a guy that should be banned for life), I wonder how many know that Hope Solo was charged with allegedly attacking two family members?
• Best bumper sticker I've seen in quite some time: "Obama: Long on Golf. Short on Balls."
• Speaking of Pres. Obama, if you listened carefully to his taking the oath of office, he actually said: "So help me golf."

We're Facing A "Forever War" With Islamist Only If The West Loses Its Resolve

A. Deserter Bergdahl
B. The Five Gitmo Terrorists
C. Benghazi 4
D. Marine In Mexico
E. James Foley
Obama made sure A & B returned home safely...WH Press Secretary

"The capture of the US Embassy in Tehran, the attack on the USS Cole, the mass murder of US Marines in their sleeping quarters in Beirut, the destruction of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the 9/11 attacks, the murder of countless GI's by IED's in Afghanistan and Iraq, the beheading of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, Nick Berg in Iraq and Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia...all fruits of a culture that has declared total war on America and now, also led to the savage murder of Foley and Sotloff." Amir Taheri


After reading that---it's clear Islamist are at total war with America. No rational person can come to any other conclusion. The fact is Islamist have been at war with the West for centuries. And it's my belief we may be in the middle of a "forever war." It's for this reason and a host of others that the West must never lose its resolve in confronting and fighting this on-going threat.

It's also for this reason Pres. Obama's admission last week of a lack of any strategy in meeting and destroying this threat should be disturbing for every American. Let's face facts. America is the only nation on earth that has the ability and power to totally destroy the onslaught by these homicidal maniacs. Yet, in the last several years, we've heard the Obama administration tell the world al-Qaeda is on the run and almost decimated. Osama is dead and GM is alive. ISIS is merely a "junior varsity." We will "degrade" ISIS. We will "destroy" ISIS. And all of that morphed into ISIS is a "manageable problem." Any wonder why all of this leaves most Americans confused and our allies distrustful and scratching their heads? (and I'm not even going to touch on the Russian "problem").

And this Wednesday evening, Pres. Obama is scheduled to give a major White House press conference on the ISIS threat. Let's pray we will hear something of substance about how we will address the ISIS murderers. But---as in the past---this president shows a remarkable lack of sustaining any commitment to dealing with a crisis head-on (on domestic policy disasters, his first impulse has always been to either blame someone else or actually tell us he just heard about it---on the news). And keep in mind, we witnessed the failure of the "reset" with Russia and the erasing of red lines in Syria and Libya.

Peggy Noonan summarized it best: "People say Obama hasn't spoken on the Islamic State with sufficient "passion," but the world at the moment probably doesn't need more passion. He needs to speak with clarity, conviction and most of all credibility." If the past is any predictor of the future, I'm not going to hold on to any "hope." 

We need to see resolve from this president and whatever coalition he creates. Otherwise, we're facing a forever war.

PS: Since this was posted, the attack in Paris reinforces the point of this post. In addition, Pres. Obama still refuses to identify the enemy but had no problem bashing Christians.

Joan Rivers Taught Us That Political Correctness Is For Punks And Pussies

Marie Osmond is so pure not even Moses could part her knees...Joan Rivers

Anyone who reads my work on a regular basis knows I'm not a big fan of the celebrity culture. With few exceptions, I could care less what they think, what they say or even what they do. One of those exceptions was Joan Rivers. 

• Madonna is so hairy. When she lifted her arm, I thought it was Tina Turner in her armpit.

Perhaps a lot has to do with the stand-up comedians I grew up with. They included, but were certainly not limited to, Don Rickles (the last living comedian of that era who also took on political correctness), David Brenner, Lenny Bruce (took on religion, sex, government, politics, etc. with reckless abandon), George Carlin (political correctness was one of his primary targets including overreaching authority), Bob Hope, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor (what can I say?), Eddie Murphy (genius in his prime) and Jerry Seinfeld (especially his TV show). There are countless others but those come immediately to mind.

• Boy George is all England needs---another queen who can't dress.

I would contend that being a comedian is harder in today's politically correct culture and environment. Joan Rivers and Don Rickles, holdovers from an era that viewed political correctness for what it is: tyranny with a happy face---were "grandfathered" in. Even the political correct punks of today gave both a pass. But the line was already drawn for the rest of the comics. A striking example has been late night comics and SNL. It took most of the late-night comics over 5 years to even consider taking on Mr. Obama for fear of being called racists. SNL, while having a long history of taking on politicians from both sides of the aisle, still treat the president with kid gloves and conservatives continue to be their primary target.

• Why would a woman cook? So her husband can say, "My wife makes delicious cake" to some hooker?

I don't even know if Rivers was a democrat, republican, liberal or conservative. Quite frankly, I didn't care. But it was strikingly clear, she didn't buy into the PC nonsense especially in her comedy. She refused to censor herself.  All she knew was how to make people laugh---because laughter can slice right through political correctness. Sadly, comedians today don't have the guts to pick up the knife and cut through that intolerance and rage. Even more disturbing, when some comedian's joke appears to be offensive to a particular group or minority, he/she is lucky to continue being employed. 

Real political incorrect comedy can be a useful tool in promoting freedom including ensuring our First Amendment rights are not abridged. Moreover, it's important a society and culture don't always take itself too seriously. It's always been comedians who force us to look at ourselves in the mirror and laugh. On the other had, political correctness has always had a thin skin. Comedians like Joan Rivers understood that. It's why she never allowed comedy to plunge into tragedy. A joke coming from Rivers was a momentary release from a society that too often take itself too damn seriously. It's freedom of speech was all about. And it's why she often said, "Oh...grow up!" In other words, she reminded us to never genuflect to political correctness. That's for punks and pussies.

• At my funeral, I want Meryl Streep crying in five different accents.