Reminder: Tomorrow’s show is ONLY on Tube City Online Radio – McKeesport. Like these headlines say, you shouldn’t fear the Internet!
If you have Siri, Amazon Echo, or Alexa, just ask it to “Play Tube City Online Radio.” Otherwise, you can find it on:
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Radio.Garden: http://radio.garden/visit/mckeesport-pa/-9Zzpk38
Every leftist I know basically pees their pants laughing at the concept of NPR being “too liberal.” If anything, the public radio broadcaster twists itself into knots trying to present the “reasonable side” of right-wing arguments — even if they can’t find a reasonable argument and they essentially have to invent one.
The standard joke in left-wing circles is that NPR stands for “Nice, Polite Republicans.” If NPR is “liberal,” it’s only “liberal” when compared to commercial, for-profit news-talk radio, which is almost 100 percent across-the-board conservative.
The controversy flared up a few days ago, when an NPR news editor, Uri Berliner, published an article on a right-wing website, The Free Press, arguing that the public broadcaster is staffed by partisan Democrats who skew the service’s journalism and push excessive, unwarranted coverage of topics such as racism, reproductive health and LGBTQ rights.
Berliner, who was suspended without pay for five days for disparaging his employer, has now resigned in protest.
The conservative media is having a field day with Berliner’s article (which is undoubtedly what he wanted).
Republicans in Congress want to use the article as justification for their efforts to completely de-fund NPR (never mind that only 1 percent of NPR’s funding comes from the federal government; another 9 percent or so comes indirectly from state and local sources, in places where NPR stations are owned by local and state governments).
Fox News has been blaring that “NPR’s scandals have reached a fever pitch” and the National Review has an editorial out, “Defund NPR.”
This is all, of course, horse hockey, as Col. Potter would say.
On his own blog, NPR host Steve Inskeep has demolished Berliner’s article. Berliner did more than just cherry pick facts, Inskeep says; he made things up.
Writes Inskeep: “He says there is no debate over stories at NPR, just a ‘frictionless’ process like an ‘assembly line.’ … Uri is a prominent editor—did he approve bad stories without friction?”
According to Inskeep, Berliner claims that NPR frequently uses the word “Latinx” to describe persons of Hispanic and Latin American descent; he cites it as an example of the network’s “wokeness.” So Inskeep says he did a search at npr.org for the previous 90 days:
“I found: 197 uses of Latino, 201 uses of Latina, and just nine uses of ‘Latinx,’ usually by a guest on NPR who certainly has the right to say it.” (The emphasis is Inskeep’s.)
Berliner’s article, says Inskeep, fails as journalism: “Uri calls for ‘viewpoint diversity’ but did not seem to embrace it for this article. He didn’t seek comment from anyone or otherwise engage anyone who had a different point of view. The failure to vet the story may explain why the errors and omissions all go in one direction, toward confirming the writer’s pre-existing opinions.”
Although NPR has issued a response to Berliner’s article, Inskeep concludes that there is no need for a point-by-point rebuttal; The Free Press, he says, “let (Berliner) publish an article that discredited itself.”
We bought a new house last year from an older lady who had found the upkeep a bit too much. As a result, this spring, we’re gradually catching up on some deferred maintenance.
One of the things we need to replace are the fabric awnings, which are dirty, faded, and starting to become threadbare.
I called three companies for estimates. One came in substantially higher than I expected. The second guy visited about three weeks ago.
He showed up for the appointment, visibly rattled, and asked if he could borrow my tape measure.
“I just came from a job over in (neighboring borough),” he said. “The guy had a huge pile of cocaine on the coffee table and I swear to God he had powder all around his nose. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and I think I left my tape measure at his house, but I don’t want to go back to get it.”
Three weeks later, we still don’t have an estimate from that guy. Maybe he went back to get his tape measure and they decided he’d seen too much.
Also, if the awning guy were going to come over and give you an estimate, wouldn’t you hide your cocaine at least temporarily?
“In America, first you get the money. Then you get the power! Then … you get the awnings.”
Ah, Thursday. It started with an NSF notice from my bank (they’ve had a $300 deposit since March 28, but they decided to hold onto it until today, I guess until it reached the peak of ripeness).
Then, a few minutes later, another lovely automated notice arrived on my phone, this time from the friendly folks at Facebook.
This is not my first Facebook infraction, of course, which is why I avoid using the service except for work-related postings.
So what pissed off the Facebook Police this time?
A link I posted in November of last year to the Kansas Reflector, a local non-profit news website that reported on a police raid of a small-town newspaper in Marion County, Kan.
Continue reading “Two faces have I, one to laugh, and one to cry”Got a question? Your problems are our problems, and boy, have we got problems
Tribune-Review TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday. Questions that are too dumb to be answered by Rob Owen are sent to Jay Thurber.
Likes Colin Farrell
Dear Idiot Box: I am a fan of Colin Farrell, who stars in the new Apple TV+ detective series “Sugar.” Is he related to Mike Farrell, who played “Hawkeye” on “M*A*S*H”? —J.R., Canonsburg
Dear J.R.: You are incorrect about “M*A*S*H.” Alan Alda played Hawkeye, while Mike Farrell played Hot-Lips Mulcahy. But you are correct about Colin Farrell; he is the son of Mike Farrell and the late Conchata Farrell of “Two and a Half Men.” Together, they are part of the famous Farrell theater dynasty that also owns Farrell’s Ice-Cream Parlors on the West Coast; Colin Farrell’s character is named “Sugar” in a nod to the family’s fortune. —Jay
Curious about WTAE personalities
Dear Idiot Box: I notice that Joe DeNardo and Paul Long no longer appear on the Channel 4 News. Why? Was there a contract dispute? I miss seeing them. —I.B., Sewickley
Dear I.B.: Yes, a Hearst insider tells us the company’s notoriously tight-fisted management refused to renew the contracts of Long and DeNardo simply because they retired and then died. —Jay
Format change irks listener
Dear Idiot Box: What happened to the Christmas music on 3-W-S and WSHH radio? I liked it much better than the same old classic rock songs they’re playing now. —D.E., North Versailles Township
Dear D.E.: There has been no explanation for the sudden format changes which happened at the end of December at both of those stations. We can only assume that the ratings were bad, or that it involves a legal dispute between the stations and the estate of Andy Williams. —Jay
Channel 2 sportscaster
Dear Idiot Box: There’s a really cute blonde sportscaster on KDKA-TV who covers the Steelers. I noticed her during the pre-season and I enjoyed watching her sideline reports every week during the regular season. Where did she work before KDKA? How long has she been at KDKA? Is she married? Does she have any kids? Why isn’t she answering my emails? Why does she keep her drapes closed all the time? —W.S., Fawn Township
Dear W.S.: We can tell you that she’s married; she and husband recently purchased a large, mean Doberman; your photo has been supplied to the local police and passed around to the neighbors; and she’s got a shotgun loaded with rock salt for the next time you set foot on her lawn. —Jay
Not a fan of ‘True’
Dear Idiot Box: I don’t much care for Jodie Foster on the current season of “True Detective.” —H.A., Moon Township
Dear H.A.: That’s OK, according to her agent, she thinks you’re a jagoff, too. —Jay
Wardrobe malfunction?
Dear Idiot Box: The other day there was a reporter on WPXI who was reporting from a car crash on the Parkway East and she was wearing a dress that was so short that when she turned around, I could see her you-know-what. You know what I mean. Her whatsis. Did you see it? —H.F., Ross Township
Dear H.F.: I fear you have an over-active imagination. I reached out to WPXI and according to the news director, who carefully reviewed a high-definition video recording of the live report from the night in question, it was just the reporter’s butt cheeks. —Jay
Tanks a lot
Dear Idiot Box: I really love “Shark Tank” on ABC. Can you tell me when the new season will debut? —C.B., West End
Dear C.B.: No, piss off. —Jay
Coded messages
Dear Idiot Box: Every night at around 7 p.m., right after the news, I can’t help but get the feeling that someone is sending out strings of random numbers over my TV. I’m worried that this is ISIS or Hamas and they are sending secret messages to terror cells that are poised to strike. Can you tell me if you’ve noticed this, too, and should I be worried? Should I notify the FCC or the FBI? —B.T., Dormont
Dear B.T.: You need to seek professional help, pronto, and I’m not kidding. Those “random numbers” are harmless and are part of the daily live drawing of the Pennsylvania Lottery; there is no need to notify the FCC or the FBI, who are already watching everything you do through your TV set anyway on behalf of the lizard people who control the British royal family using chemtrails. —Jay
Do you have a question for the Idiot Box? Write to Jay Thurber, Idiot Box, c/o WRCT-TV, 400 Aardvark Blvd., Pittsburgh. Enclose $20 in unmarked bills to ensure prompt processing and mark the outside of the envelope “Personal.” If your question was not answered in this column it means we passed your letter around the newsroom and everyone had a good laugh at your expense.
Just don’t get scared, ’cause you’re gonna be spared
Alert Listener Jim writes: “If Saturday night you were downtown, working for the FBI, your case would be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, not the DA man.”
Dear Jim: Thank you for writing. The narrator, who is working for the FBI, is in a bootlegging boozer, so it’s possible that he’s investigating illegal liquor trafficking, which is a federal crime — though, admittedly, one that normally would be the jurisdiction of the U.S. Treasury Department, not the Justice Department.
On the other hand, it’s a nest of bad men, so theoretically multiple offenses are occurring on the premises. For instance, somebody shooting a gun is usually a state crime — and thus the purview of the district attorney — unless it’s happening in conjunction with the federal crime that the FBI (and presumably the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives) is investigating.
Obviously, the FBI agent’s expert testimony is going to help the DA close the nest of bad men, possibly with the involvement of the state liquor control authorities, which is why the DA is so grateful for the FBI’s involvement that by the end of the night, he’s pumping the agent’s hand. (Why is the DA shaking his left hand, though, instead of his right hand, which the long, cool woman is holding? Is this, perhaps, some sort of secret Masonic ritual? The question is left as an exercise for the reader. Please show your work.)
To me, the biggest question is about the long, cool woman’s pair of 45s. This is clearly a double entendre. In fact, it’s blatant enough to be a single entendre. And yet even a small child knows that with bra measurements, numbers are used for band sizes, not cup sizes; cup sizes are letters.
(Pursuing this line further, have some sympathy for the long, cool woman. If she’s 5’9″ and skinny but has a 45-inch bust, she’s going to have back problems. Maybe she’s in the bootlegging boozer to get some alcohol to ease her pain.)
Anyway, I hope that clears up any confusion. None of this should be construed as legal advice. If you find yourself in a bootlegging boozer with a nest of bad men this Saturday night, please consult an attorney, not a 52-year-old rock song or a weekend disc jockey who isn’t much younger.
Join us next week, when we discuss the fact that a small-town girl “born and raised in South Detroit” would actually be from Windsor, Ont., and how if Daddy was a cop “on the east side of Chicago” the night Chicago died, he was patrolling Lake Michigan.
P.S. Here’s the real story behind the song. It’s about the Prohibition era and was deliberately written as a pastiche of Jerry Reed, Creedence Clearwater Revival and other swamp-rock acts.
Happy Easter — please don’t eat your Flavoradio
(Radio Shack Catalog Archives)
Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates! I hope every radio in your Easter basket was a flavor that you like.
The picture above comes from the very entertaining Radio Shack Catalog Archive website. Contrary to the name, the “Flavoradio” wasn’t flavored and wasn’t even scented. But I wonder how many kids licked them just to see.
I can remember Radio Shack selling those AM-only “Flavoradios” well into the 1980s, when virtually no kids or teenagers wanted an AM radio. At the end, if I remember correctly, they were often given away for free if you clipped a coupon from the Sunday paper.
Speaking of Easter, Alert Listener Captain Jack from Munhall pointed out that although there seem to be 1 million Christmas songs, there are virtually no songs about Easter except for “Easter Parade.” I asked my social media followers to suggest some other Easter songs, and although several made a valiant effort, we mostly came up empty. A goose-egg, if you will.
Trivia Question: Regarding the song “Easter Parade,” as any fule kno, it was written by Irving Berlin. It debuted in a 1933 Broadway musical called “As Thousands Cheer” with Clifton Webb and Marilyn Miller. It became more famous in the 1942 film “Holiday Inn” starring Bing Crosby, then became the basis for the 1948 film “Easter Parade” starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.
There’s one line in the song that I suspect confuses modern listeners:
And you’ll find that you’re in the rotogravure
I will award a solid brass figlagee with bronze oak leaf palms to anyone who knows what a “Rotogravure” refers to. #easterparade
Answer after the jump.
In case you missed it, my cartoons are back in print … in Print, Pittsburgh’s East End newspaper. Look for “Pen Avenue” on the editorial page in upcoming issues.
If you want to read Print online, you can’t … you’ll need to buy a physical copy at select stores in the East End (including the Giant Eagle in Squirrel Hill) or visit the website.
Continue reading “Did you see his name in the local paper?”This just in: Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital made history last week when they transplanted a pig’s kidney into a human being. (NBC News)
But that’s nothing compared to what surgeons in New York City accomplished years ago, when they transplanted a pig’s brain into this horse’s ass:
Against my better judgment, I watched the State of the Union and live-blogged my thoughts on Mastodon ….