Fact: The Buffalo Bills have no shot at being in the Super Bowl.
Alternative Fact: The Buffalo Bills are going to the Super Bowl.
A lot is being made of Kelly Anne Conway suggesting White House press secretary Sean Spicer was using “alternative facts” when asked about his claims on the size of the crowd at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
On the surface, it appears to be another silly issue of the Trump administration not liking being told their event wasn’t as good as prior ones and how the media is trying to delegitimize his election. There are many larger issues out there like health care, NAFTA, Supreme Court nominations and our relationship with Russia. Spending time arguing about the size of the crowd seems pointless and petty.
The problem I have with this is the Trump administration seems has no problem blatantly lying to the face of the American people. Smart communications persons try to set the narrative and not get sucked into a conversation like that. Are “alternative facts” what you want people talking about? It’s inconsequential, and outside of die-hard Trump supporters, won’t change anyone’s mind. It’s mind boggling to even go down that rabbit hole.
Now I get the news media is an easy target and that a certain segment of America enjoys watching them get a tongue lashing. If I had to guess, I would say their approval rating is around the same as the congress, but it still seems to me to be a fight you don’t need to have.
So where do we go from here? I suggest the classic “Caveat Emptor” (buyer beware). Maybe I’m cynical, but I don’t trust either side.
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” – Dr. Suess
2016 was a devastating year for musicians. The list of names lost in 2016 is extraordinary and covers a spectrum of musical styles that owe much to those we lost. While their talent will be missed, we can still smile because it happened.
It would be nearly impossible to feature all the artists lost in 2016, so feel free to add any names you want to in the comments section.
David Bowie
Jan. 8, 1947 – Jan. 10, 2016
How does one define an artist like Bowie? I’m not sure you can which is what makes him even more extraordinary. From his glam rock era, featuring an androgynous and flamboyant alter ego Ziggy Stardust, to a sound he called plastic soul with songs like Fame, Bowie continued to redefine himself. Bowie also enjoyed collaborating with a wide assortment of artists including Brian Eno, Queen and even Bing Crosby during on a TV holiday special. There simply is not enough room here to list all of his brilliant accomplishments, so we’ll let Bowie sum it up himself; “I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human. I felt very puny as a human. I thought, ‘Fuck that. I want to be a superhuman.”
Leon Russell
April 2, 1942 – Nov. 13, 2016
The quintessential band leader for the rock n’ roll generation, Russell’s musicianship and showmanship made him as unique as his sound. One of his early hits, “A Song for You” (which Elton John called an American classic) was covered by a spectrum of artists from Andy Williams to Amy Winehouse. Russell was the glue for shows like the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and the concert for Bangladesh. Continuing a very productive career through the 80s and 90s, he joined forces with just about everyone you can think of. Russell’s career was rejuvenated in 2010 when he teamed up with Elton John on album “The Union” which Rolling Stone named the third best album of the year and was nominated for a Grammy.
Leonard Cohen
Sept. 21, 1934 – Nov. 10, 2016
Often blending dark, subdued music with religion infused lyrics, Cohen began writing poetry in the 1950s and early 1960s and did not start writing music until 1967 when he released his first album “Songs of Leonard Cohen”. Bono of U2 fame described what is arguably his most famous song “Hallelujah” as “the most perfect song in the world”. His final album, aptly titles “You Want it Darker” was released just weeks before his death.
Prince
June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016
Much like Bowie, the artist Prince could not be pigeon holed into a genre. There was simply the Prince sound. Prince broke onto the scene in 1978 with “For You”, an album that he wrote, produced, arranged, composed, and, oh yeah, played all 27 instruments (to be fair, he co-wrote “Soft and Wet” with Chris Moon). It didn’t take long for the revolution to take over, both literally and figuratively. The ginormous “Purple Rain” gave us “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, both reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. At one point in time, Prince had the No. 1 album, song and movie in the country. Prince continued to be churn out music at an exhausting pace scoring No. 1 hits in the 80s, 90s.
Merle Haggard
April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016
The poet of the common man, Haggard wrote songs that were gritty and deeply felt. His teenage years involved a series of petty crimes which landed him in the infamous San Quentin at the age of 20. After being released, Haggard bounced around local clubs before getting the chance to record his own single, “Sing a Sad Song” which made its way into the top 20. Haggard continued to see success through the tumultuous late sixties when he penned “Okie from Muskogee”, a song he said started as joke, but ended up making him a political symbol. Haggard went on to have No. 1 hits on the country charts into the late 80s and was inducted in the County Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 1994. When introduced as guest on The Johnny Cash show, Cash said “here’s a man who writes about his own life and has had a life to write about”.
Maurice White
Dec. 19, 1941 – Feb. 4, 2016
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, White studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and found work as a session drummer in 1963. He formed his own band, the Salty Peppers, in the Windy City in 1969, but then headed west to Los Angeles where he renamed his band Earth, Wind & Fire (the name was based on his astrological chart, which had no water signs). White had that ability to mix jazz, rhythm and blues, funk, soul and pop into a sound that still resonates today. In all, White totaled six Grammy’s with the band, and received an individual award for this arrangement of “Got To Get You Into My Life.” The bands hits “Shining Star”, “September” and “Let’s Groove” helped produce a succession of gold and platinum albums throughout the 70s and early 80s.
Sir George Martin
Jan. 3, 1926 – March 8, 2016
Known affectionately as the Fifth Beatle, Sir Martin, was an audio engineer, producer, arranger composer, conductor and musician. His work with the Beatles alone put him in a league of his own, but Sir Martin also worked with Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin, Neil Sedaka, Kenny Rogers, Cheap Trick, Elton John and Celine Dion just to name a few. In all, Martin scored 30 number-one hits in the UK and 23 number-one hits in the U.S. Martin, along with son also remixed 80 minutes of Beatles music for the Cirque du Soleil show Love.
Glen Frey
Nov. 6, 1948 – Jan. 19, 2016
Born in Michigan, Frey’s early career involved working with Bob Seeger. Frey allegedly was ready to join the Silver Bullet Band, but his mom nixed that idea due to his smoking weed with Seeger. After moving to California, Frey met and worked with J.D. Souther and Jackson Browne before hooking up with Don Henley and playing backup for Linda Ronstadt. This led to the two going off on their own and forming the Eagles. Frey sang lead vocals on such monster hits as “Take it Easy”, “Peaceful, Easy Feeling”, “Tequila Sunrise”, “Already Gone”, “Lyin Eyes”, “New Kid in Town” and “Heartache Tonight.” Frey also enjoyed success as a solo artist recording “Smuggler’s Blues”, “The Heat is On” and “Livin Right”.
Sonny James
May 1, 1928 – Feb. 22, 2016
Born James Hugh Loden, Sonny James was best known for his 1957 “Young Love”, one of the very first cross over hits that hit both the country and pop charts. James went on to notch more than 70 country and pop charted songs during a 30-year span including an impressive five-year streak of 16 straight Billboard #1 singles. From 1964 to 1976, James had 21 of his albums reach the country top 10. James became the first country artist to appear on The Ed Sullivan show and co-hosted the very first CMA Awards show the Bobbi Gentry in 1967.
Pete Fountain
July 3, 1930 – Aug. 6, 2016
Born in the heart of New Orleans, Fountain played Dixieland, pop jazz, honky-tonk jazz, pop and Creole in a variety of traditional and contemporary sounds. Fountain was spotted by a talent scout for Lawrence Welk and become best known for his many solos on The Lawrence Welk show. Fountain left the show acknowledging that “Champagne and bourbon don’t mix”. Fountain was a prolific artist, recording over 100 albums and CD’s and opened his own club in the heart of the French Quarter where he performed with a cast of jazz greats including his friend and rival Al Hirt.
Bobby Vee
Bobby Vee, aka Robert Thomas Velline, was a 1960s teen idol and American pop singer who scored 38 Top 100 chart hits. Vee first gained fame as a teenager when he filled in for Buddy Holly at a Minnesota gig after Holly was killed in a plane crash. His single “Rubber Ball in 1961 hit 31 on the Australia charts, making him an international star, but it was “Take Good Care of My Baby” that cemented his fame. Having a historic link to the great Buddy Holly, Vee wrote “like so many other people, I became a Buddy Holly fan the very first time I heard him sing. I’ve been a fan ever since and I guess I always will be.
Keith Emerson
Nov. 2, 1944 – March 11, 2016
Greg Lake
Nov. 10, 1947 – Dec. 7, 2016
Maybe it’s not fair to put these two artists together in single post, but it was their combination of talent that introduced millions to the progressive rock sound. Emerson has been described as “perhaps the greatest, most technically accomplished keyboardist in rock history” by AllMusic. Lake started to play guitar and wrote “Lucky Man” at the age of 12. Lake joined Robert Fripp to form King Crimson before going on to sing, play guitar and bass for ELP. Emerson became famous writing rock arrangements of classical music for the band Nice before teaming up with Palmer in 1970. ELP sold an estimated 48 million albums worldwide.
George Michael
June 25, 1963 – Dec. 25, 2016
Riding on the wave of the brand new MTV, Michael formed Wham with Andrew Ridgeley. Wham was an immediate success with hits like “Young Guns”, “Club Tropicana” and the chart topping “Wake Me up before You Go Girl”. Wham broke down many barriers, becoming the first Western pop music group to tour China. Wham broke up in the mid-80’s, leading Michael to even bigger success as a solo artist mixing successive lyrics with a pop dance beat. American Top 40 host Casey Kasem refused to say the title of “I want your Sex”. The second single “Faith” solidified Michael as a superstar with the album enjoying 51 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 of Billboard 200.
There has been a lot of buzz lately about “fake” news sites and how they may have impacted the recent presidential election.
Multiple stories have been written on how to spot a fake news story and even President Obama has weighed in calling it a threat to democracy.
There’s only one little problem, fake news has been around since the birth of our nation.
Back in 1782, Benjamin Franklin, who was in France as American ambassador, put together an entirely fake issue of a real Boston newspaper, the Independent Chronicle. In it, Franklin made up a story allegedly from the New York frontier and concerned wartime atrocities by Indians at the behest of the British.
The fake story was sent to his friends and was picked up by real newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island.
Columnist Leonard Pitts (who appears in the Houston Chronicle) wrote a piece on how fake news is “eating like terminates through the foundations of democracy”. He even goes on to quote Thomas Jefferson who said “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free; it expects what never was and never will be.”
It’s a great quote, but it’s hard to swallow when you learn Jefferson secretly gave money to newspaper editors to spread personal rumors about his enemies which may or may not have been true while the country was struggling to form a new government. Oh well, it still makes for a great quote.
Now in today’s inter-connected world wide web, it’s easy to see how a fake news story can take off like a wild fire. Websites like Facebook are trying to figure out how they weed these stories out (although some reports claim Facebook generates half its ad revenue from fake news sites), so I guess it will be up to us to decide what is true and what is not.
Democracy survived Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson’s transgressions, I suspect it will continue to do so after this election as well.
Anybody want to take a guess at who has the number one song on iTunes today? Bruno Mars? The Chainsmokers? Andy Grammer?
Nope, it’s the pride of Porter, Texas; Sundance Head. Never heard of him? Then you must not watch NBC’s The Voice. The program is hosted by Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys and features various levels of competition to determine who America thinks has the best voice.
Sundance busted out “Me and Jesus” during Monday nights show. The song, written by Tom T. Hall, quickly rose to the top of the iTunes chart. Sundance starts it off slow and than takes off like a freight train features a sound that is reminiscent of the Soggy Bottom Boys from the move “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou”.
Sundance looks like your atypical county musician, but there is much more to his repertoire than those cry in your beer songs. Check out his cover of Cyrus’s “Climb”. Not only does he perform it in front of Cyrus, it’s only his voice and guitar. No professional musicians backing him up, it’s just a guy and his guitar and he blows everyone away.
Sundance has music in his genes. His dad, Roy Head was in the band The Traits, best known for their 1965 hit, “Treat Her Right.” When he was 20, Sundance recorded with ZZ Top through a friend from his dad. 13 years later, Sundance started to play music professionally.
A contestant during season six of American Idol, Sundance finished in 13th place becoming the first American Idol contestant in history to score a recording contract with a major record label, Universal Motown, without finishing in the Top 12.
His band, aptly named Sundance Head plays all over Texas, but with his exposure and popularity on the rise, you better catch the self-proclaimed founder of Soul Country while you can.
“My number one priority is making sure president Obama’s a one-term president.”
— Senate Minority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
“We all want what’s best for this country. That’s what I heard in Mr. Trump’s remarks last night. That’s what I heard when I spoke to him directly. And I was heartened by that.”
— President Barack Obama
I believe you can judge a person not when they’re winning, but when they’re losing. How they respond tells a whole lot about their character. That’s why I was pleased to hear President Obama take the high road when meeting with reporters after the Trump/Clinton election.
It may just have been rhetoric and maybe he really doesn’t believe what he says, but tone matters. Back in 2008, Sen. McConnell felt it was in the best interest of the country to do whatever he could to not allow Obama a second term. You can argue that, blocking Obama would be in the best interest for the country, but do you really want to say it like that? Could we at least put some lipstick on the pig?
I may have missed it, but I don’t recall the kind of bombastic language this year by presidential candidates in the past elections. Deplorable and nasty soon became buzz words for both parties to rally around. I realize the country is divided, but maybe it’s because of our tone of discourse. Maybe if we step back, listen (now there’s a concept) and work at addressing our issues in a calmer manner we can get more things done. I understand not everyone will be able to do this, I’m just saying it would be nice to see a little more of it.
I think Elwood P. Dowd in the film Harvey summed it up best when he said; “In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.” Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.”
Having spent most of my adult life in talk radio, I always like to keep up with what’s happening on the airwaves. People come, people go and there is the usual craziness, but then I came across two stories that make me glad I have no part of that industry anymore.
The first comes from Miami and WAXY (790 The Ticket). It seems Dan Le Batard is furious with management because they told him not to talk about a penis surgery story. Le Batard supposedly went on a rant, challenging the station to fire him.
“Nothing matters to me more, than you don’t control what comes out of my mouth,” Le Batard said, “and we’ve got someone going crazy locally right now, saying they’re gonna yank us off the air if we continue to talk about this. And what I’m telling you right now is: fire me. Not only never do that again, fire me now if you want to control me that way. NOW…. yank me off the air now. Fire me now, cancel my contract now…. because this is infuriating…. you do not control what comes out of my mouth.”
Nice to see him take a stand on such an important issue.
And then there’s St. Louis talk host Bob Romanik.
In recorded ads played this week on AM station KZQZ, sandwiched between ads for local St. Clair County “Freedom Coalition” politicians, Romanik referred repeatedly to County Board Chairman Mark Kern as a cross-dresser and “faggot.”
The ad, which has Tiny Tim’s 1968 recording of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” as background music asks
“Have you also been lying about your sexuality and sex life? … Mark ‘Sweetcakes’ Kern, not a wolf in sheep’s clothing but a very small man in women’s clothing. You have now earned a new name. … To all the people of St. Clair County, you’ll be known as Mark ‘The Faggot’ Kern, a faggot forever.”
According to the St. Louis Dispatch, At least one listener complained. Romanik responded on his talk show Tuesday that anyone who thinks he doesn’t have the right to speak his mind can “kiss my red, white and blue, hairy, stinky old ass. … I can question anybody’s sexuality.”
Romanik, who claims he is not perfect, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in 1999, admitted to defrauding two banks of about $1.5 million to build topless nightclubs in the metro-east. He was ordered to serve 20 months in federal prison.
Fortunately, there is a solution to all this; turn off the radio.
Something strange is happening with the NFL. No, it’s not that the Dallas Cowboys have a shot at playing in this year’s Super Bowl at NRG Stadium with a backup quarterback, but rather TV ratings are down.
How down? Ratings giant Nielsen is reporting Monday Night Football is down 20 percent. Sunday Night Football is off by 18.5 percent and Thursday Night Football is down 21.8 percent.
The NFL is blaming the “unprecedented” interest in the presidential election, but someone who knows a little about sports and broadcasting has a different theory.
Back in 2014 when the NFL signed an eight game Thursday Night Football deal, Mark Cuban predicted that the NFL was overreaching and would soon see an implosion.
“I’m just telling you: Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they’re getting hoggy,”said Cuban. “Just watch. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way. I’m just telling you, when you’ve got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns on you. That’s rule No. 1 of business.”
Now to be fair, there could be many reasons for the decline if viewership.
Games are filled with commercials and penalties and take way too long to play. Back in 2013, The average length of a game was three hours and 12 minutes and included 20 commercial breaks with more than 100 ads.
The match-ups have been terrible. When the announcers are talking about whether or not they make their beds in the fourth quarter of the Tennessee – Jacksonville game, you know it’s a snoozer.
Smart phones give fans access to game information with real time scores, stats and news without having to watch the actual game.
Granted we are only talking about a handful of games so far, and now that the election is here and the World Series is done, ratings could return to last year’s numbers. Still one wonders how worried the league is over what could be a ratings tremor, or seismic shift.
The longtime Democratic strategist Donna Brazile was shown the door at CNN (technically she resigned, but the saying “don’t let the door hit you in the ass when you leave” comes to mind).
Brazile, who enjoyed offering her opinions on politics like Kim Kardashian likes selfies, was a mainstay for the network for many years. While you might not agree with her opinions, most reasonable people could respect her intelligence and knowledge of current events. So what happened?
Brazile informed/leaked/tossed a bone to the Clinton campaign about a question they could expect during a Democratic primary debate. CNN claims no one from their channel tipped her off, and suggested it came from TV One host Rolando Martin who co-moderated the debate or someone affiliated with Martin.
Not mincing words, CNN president Jeff Zucker reportedly called her actions “unethical” and “disgusting” In an editorial meeting.
This calls into question the practice of news organizations hiring partisan operatives. Their loyalties are not to the network, but more to their parties and candidates. While they may have educated opinions, that’s all they are; opinions.
“CNN never gave Brazile access to any questions, prep material, attendee list, background information or meetings in advance of a town hall or debate,” a CNN spokeswoman said Monday. “We are completely uncomfortable with what we have learned about her interactions with the Clinton campaign while she was a CNN contributor.”
While not surprising, it continues the narrative that what we see on so-called “news” channels, really isn’t news. It’s a bunch of talking heads who enjoy trying to be the smartest person in the room.
There’s a lot of dirty business that takes place with Municipal Utility Districts (better known as MUD districts). The Houston Chronicle recently reported on the power these districts have to levy taxes, sell bonds and make home-owners lives miserable.
Now there is a decent argument to be made on why MUD districts are needed. They provide valuable infrastructure to communities that are unincorporated and help in the development of new neighborhoods. That being said, citizens might be better served if some of the rules governing them were changed.
For example, I live in Montgomery County Mud District #84. Recently residents became concerned because the bills they were receiving were much higher than normal. One homeowner posted on NextDoor.com that their Aug. 2016 water bill was $363 with the sprinklers turned off (bills usually run between $80 – $110 during summer months).
Obviously, that kind of increase causes people to ask questions. One resident did some research and discovered that none of the board members lived in Montgomery County. So how could they serve you ask? Because each board member owns exactly .1148 acre, which according to chapter 54 of the Water Code, allows them to sit on the board and make decisions.
Satellite images of where the properties owned by the board members are located show what looks to be a carefully thought out and pre-arraigned agreement. The property sits right next to the water plant, all tucked together in nice and neat parcels. Can you say buddy-buddy?
Location of property owned by MUD 84 board member.
Close up image of properties owned by MUD 84 board members.
Now to be clear and fair, this is not illegal and is actually a common practice. Developers need to issue bonds before construction begins (who wants to move into a neighborhood with no water or sewer system), but there are some steps that can be taken. One, require a board member to actually live in the county for one full year. Setting up little plots of land for people to buy so they can be on the board just does not pass the smell test, even if it is totally innocent.
Another step is for board members to be more visible. Want to ask them a question? Good luck with that. Home owners are required to turn into super-sleuths to uncover their identities, let alone get in touch with one. I’m sure that as in any public (or in this case, semi-public office), it can be a thankless job, but there has to be something appealing to be on the board, or why would anyone do it in the first place?
MUD districts like Montgomery MUD #84 hire companies like Wheeler & Associates to handle the tax and collection services and Municipal District Services to collect bills. Both website offers lots of information on tax rates and how to pay bills, but try to find information on board members. And, don’t bother looking at the Home Owners Association website, you find anything there either. No you need to contact Schwartz, Page, & Harding (legal representation for MUD 84) regarding the identities of the MUD 84 board.
Again, no one disputes the need for MUD districts, they serve a very important function, but could we have some level of accountability and/or transparency?
Charles Osgood announced he is retiring this fall from his “Sunday Morning” program on CBS Television. For those of you unaware of this gem of a broadcaster, shame on you. You have missed out on what could be argued, the greatest storyteller of all time.
Notice I did not say journalist. Osgood was a master at informing his audience of events in a way that drew you in and would not let you go. It today’s world of shrinking ratings and fragmented audience’s Osgood delivered the goods. “Sunday Morning” continues to be a ratings leader, with a year-to-date audience of nearly 6 million viewers, it consistently tops rival Sunday morning news shows.
I first heard him on the radio where four times a day, Osgood found stories to share with his listeners; from major national news, to human interest essays. His ability to use words to paint pictures left all of us who wanted to write for a living feel inferior.
When I heard he was leaving TV, but would continue to host The Osgood File, I wondered if radio stations still even carry it. It had been years since I heard it in Houston. Sadly, I discovered Houston is one of two top 10 markets where the program is not broadcast (Atlanta is the other).
Somehow, stations in NY, Los Angeles and Chicago can spare four minutes so that their listeners can learn and be entertained by the man known as the CBS News “Poet in Residence”.
